Jude Stephens (26 page)

My heart melted at Alex’s words. I was amazed at the
intensity of his love for me. “You’re right Alex, now is not the
time for us to mate.” I saw a slight shadow pass over his face and
I added, “Now is not the right time, but the time will come when I
will answer your call to mate, and I will do so with only joy and
happiness in my heart.”

At my words Alex fell to his knees. I rushed over
but he put a hand up to stop me. “Your words have pushed the mating
call to the brink. If I touch you, I will take you.”

I stepped back. “I want to help you Alex.”

“
You can’t. I need to take care of
this on my own. Go back downstairs. The vampires will understand
what is going on but the others won’t.”

With one last look I opened the door and stepped out
into the hallway. I started to head to the stairs, but I heard Alex
groan. I turned and headed back. I stopped outside the door and
decided if Alex was going to go through this then I would too.

I would bear witness on this side of the door to his
mating call. The first moan was quickly followed by another moan. I
heard him moan my name over and over again, “Ohhh, Wrennnnn… Oh
God…Ohhhhhh, Wren...I love you...I need to so bad… Wrennnnn.”

I sank to the floor in front of the door doing some
of my own suffering. I wanted so badly to kick the door in and mate
with him. I could smell my own arousal and tried to clench my legs
together. I heard Alex grunting and groaning as he came close to
climax.

I began to whimper softly, and I heard him say,
“Wren… my God, I can smell your arousal...I’m going to…AHHHHH!” I
stood on wobbly knees and opened the door. Alex was lying on the
floor, slightly curled up. I went into the adjoining bathroom and
got a wet washcloth.

When I knelt beside Alex he turned and said, “You
don’t have to do this.”

“
I know. I want to.” I took the
cloth and cleansed his body making sure to wipe all evidence of his
desire away. When he was clean and put back together again, I
curled up against him and held him in my arms and simply said, “I
love you.”

“
I love you too, Wren. More than
you can imagine.”

Chapter 26

When we got back downstairs it was to a rather
subdued group. I gathered that meant Annika and Cristoforo had
explained what was going on.

“
Damn! I am tired of everyone
always knowing every little detail of my sex life. I might as well
charge admission every time I have sex and let everyone watch
me.”

All of the men got a big grin on their faces and the
women were calculating in their heads how much I should charge.

“
Oh for Pete’s sake! Let’s
concentrate on why we’re all here. We’re here to find Roberto.” I
looked over at Annika and Cristoforo who were sitting side by side
on the sofa. “Can either of you shed some light on why you think he
was taken?”

Annika looked at Cristoforo who shrugged. Sighing
she said, “I take it you’ve heard of the vampire counsel?” At my
nod, she continued, “The counsel has been in heated debates lately
about what to do with you.”

“
What to do with me? I don’t
understand.”

Annika spoke, “You’ve caused quite a stir in the
world of the vampire and The Evolved. There are those that oppose
your existence. They like things just the way they are. It may seem
archaic to you, but there is order to our world. Many of The
Evolved species have their own counsels where they attempt to hold
some sort of order over their species. The vampire counsel is the
oldest and most effective. As you know Roberto is a member of that
counsel.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, Roberto and Alex have told
me a little about the counsel. They need to come out of the dark
ages.”

Cristoforo snapped at me. “All things are not black
and white, Orenda. The counsel has reasons to act as they do. They
have a species to protect. In your own lifetime you’ve seen species
that have been hunted to extinction.”

I thought about what he said. It was true. I was
making judgment on something I knew little about. However, the fact
that they wanted me dead did not put them on my Christmas list.

“
You’re right, Cristoforo. I don’t
know enough about them to pass judgment, but again it seems to me
that they have done the same with me. What we need to do is find
out exactly who took Roberto and why.”

“
Oh well, I can tell you that.”
All heads turned towards Janel.

I looked at her doubtfully and she said, “What? Do
you all think I just sit around all day and look pretty?”

“
If you know something that could
help us why didn’t you say something before?” I asked
her.

“
Well, you all seemed to have this
big plan to find Annika, and I didn’t want to
interfere.”

Everyone in the room was looking at Janel like she
had grown two heads. I on the other hand just chalked it up to
Janel being Janel. “Okay Janel, tell us what you know.”

“
You know I work at the clinic
right? A few weeks ago two guys came in. Well, they looked like
guys but one was a vampire and one was a dragon.”

“
Dragon?” Both Alex and Cristoforo
said at the same time in worried voices.

“
What does that mean?” I
asked.

Surprisingly, Cheve was the one to
answer, “It means this is some serious shit. There aren’t a lot of
evolved dragons around anymore. The only thing rarer is a Sensay.
What dragons that are left hold a lot of power among The Evolved.
If a dragon is involved in this mess then we are in
deep.”

“
May I continue with my story?”
Janel asked petulantly.

“
I’m sorry, of course continue.” I
apologized.

“
Well, anyway, like I said these
two guys come walking in and I noticed them right away. They were
both really good looking. The vampire had blond hair and was really
tall. The dragon was dark. His hair was black as night and he was
very muscular.” Janel got a dreamy look on her face.

Alex rolled his eyes, “I think we’re losing
her.”

“
Janel? Sweetie? What did the
vampire and the dragon want?”

“
Oh yeah, they wanted white
fungus.”

All three of the vampires in the room gasped and
stood up quickly.

“
Son of a bitch,” Cristoforo
cursed.

“
Damn.” Alex added.

“
What does that mean Alex?” I
asked him.

“
It means that those two most
likely are the ones that have Roberto. White fungus is one of the
few substances that have any effect on vampires. In small amounts
it can be used as an anesthesia. In larger quantities it is
extremely lethal. The fungus was first found in North America and
has wiped out large populations of bats. This is not
good.”

“
Did you sell them this fungus
Janel?” I asked her.

“
Yeah. It’s not an illegal
substance or anything. Though a vampire’s tolerance for pain is
very high, there are times when it’s used as an anesthesia in
surgery cases.”

I thought back to a few months ago when I had to
operate on Alex to remove a bullet. That white fungus stuff would
have come in handy then.

“
Okay, so we know there are at
least two different species working together on this, dragons and
vampires. We also know they most likely nabbed Roberto to get to
me. So why don’t we give them what they want?”

“
NO!” Everyone, with the exception
of Cristoforo, exclaimed.

Alex took my hand in his. “You know I will support
you in all things Wren, but not this. I will not let you sacrifice
yourself for Roberto.”

Quietly from the corner of the room Cheve said,
“This is a dangerous game you play, Sensay. Are you sure?”

I looked him in the eye, “I’m sure. It’s the only
way.”

“
What are the two of you talking
about?” Alex demanded.

I put my hand on Alex’s cheek, “I do not intend to
sacrifice myself. I intend to let them think that I’ve sacrificed
myself. That’s all. I will make them believe I am so desperately in
love with Roberto that I would trade my life for his. When he is
safely away, I will go to the plane between the spirit worlds. To
them it will appear that I am dead but I will not be.”

Alex shook his head. “I don’t like this. Too many
things could go wrong.”

Cheve muttered, “Not to mention the fact that you’ve
never been able to come back from the second plane without
help.”

“
What does he mean
Wren?”

“
It just means I have to
concentrate harder. Until now I’ve needed some…assistance to
return.”

Mark spoke, “You had to be shaken for ten minutes
before you could come back the last time.”

I glared at him. “Now you speak? Look guys, I’ll
practice tomorrow. In the mean time maybe Janel will be able to
make contact with these two guys.” I asked her, “Did you happen to
get any information from them?”

“
Just their names and phone
number. We didn’t have very much white fungus on hand and I
promised to order some more.”

“
Just their names and phone
number?” I teased. “Not if they were single or what their sign
was.”

Janel smiled slyly. “Give me a little time I’ll get
it. Draco the dragon is so hot!”

Cristoforo made a choking sound, “Did you say
Draco?” Janel nodded.

Cristoforo rubbed a hand across his face. “This is
bad.” Alex asked him, “Do you know him?”

“
Not personally, but I’ve heard of
him. He is one mean son of a bitch. I’ve also heard some rumors
about a supreme counsel that he’s been trying to form.”

“
A supreme counsel? What does that
mean?” I asked.

Cheve answered, “I’ve heard
rumblings for years about a supreme counsel. The Evolved want to
form a counsel of different evolved beings that would rule all. I
suppose they would see you as a threat to their plans Wren. That is
why they probably took Roberto. They most likely aren’t aware that
you two are no longer together. ”

“
Good. It will work to our
advantage to have them think that. Janel can contact them about a
new shipment of white fungus and then we can make a “deal” with
them. My surrender in exchange for Roberto” I said.

Cheve got an evil grin on his
face. “I think its best, in order for the charade to work that you
get your own room at the hotel Wren.”

“
Do you think that’s necessary?” I
asked.

Alex didn’t look happy but said, “He’s probably
right. If you do this I don’t want you in any more danger than
necessary.”

Changing the subject I asked, “Who’s going to go
with Janel when she contacts Draco? Janel did you happen to get the
other guys name?”

“
I think it was Sean or Seamus or
something like that. He was pretty cute too, but there was
something about the dragon that I really liked.”

Alex said, “I knew a Seamus Fitzgerald in the 60’s.
We carried on a bit back in London.”

Janel piped up, “It’s probably the same guy because
Draco called him Fitz a few times.”

I gave Alex a worried look. “I don’t think it should
be you. They will know of your ties to Roberto. That leaves
Cristoforo out. I think Cheve should go with her. Mark, I want you
to stay with me and Bullet in my room tomorrow. I’m not a fool. I’d
rather not stay alone.”

Mark looked happy with the arrangements. I can’t say
that I was. I would miss sleeping beside Alex.

As if he heard me, he lifted my hand to his mouth
and placed a tender kiss on the back of it. “Hopefully, this will
be finished soon and you will take me on that private vacation you
promised me.”

I shivered thinking about the promise behind his
words of few weeks alone, indulging in all of our fantasies. Alex
could bite me again. Just thinking about it made me hot all over.
Alex must have been reading my thoughts as his eyes burned bright
with passion.

Cristoforo interrupted with, “I don’t think this is
going to work. From what I’ve heard about Draco he isn’t a fool.
Plus I’m not sure Roberto will go along with it.”

Annika said, “He will have to. He will be forced to
once Wren puts her plan in place.”

I understood how she felt. She would gladly
sacrifice me in order to keep her mate safe, and I didn’t blame her
one bit. “Let’s get this plan underway. The sooner we do it, the
sooner we can go home.”

“
Amen.’ Cheve muttered.

We agreed that we would go back to the clinic to get
Draco’s phone number and Janel would make the call. After promising
to keep Annika and Cristoforo in the loop, we piled back in the SUV
and headed back to the clinic. It was still a few hours until dawn
and the clinic was packed.

As we entered a good looking man caught sight of us
and said, “There you are Janel, I was getting worried about you.”
He looked at the rest of us with a raised eyebrow. He was quite
handsome with dark short hair and dark eyes. He wasn’t too tall
maybe five foot eleven. He had a kind smile.

Janel said, “This is my best friend Wren Sherman,
Wren this is Dr. Kai Satou.”

I shook his hand and a strange sensation went up my
arm. It was like my skin was crawling but it wasn’t unpleasant. His
eyes widened. “You’re a Sensay? This is amazing. I never thought
I’d ever meet one.”

“
How do you know I’m a
Sensay?”

“
I’m empathetic, as most Kylan’s
are.”

“
I’m sorry. I’m sorely lacking on
my knowledge of The Evolved. What is a Kylan?”