The Power Of The Bite (14 page)

“You can’t love a vampire.” Cole’s face was stricken and Dax wasn’t sure if the man was going to cry, yell, or have a heart attack.

“I can and I do,” Dax said firmly, keeping his voice calm. “That’s the whole point of love, it’s a free choice. You either do or you don’t, and I do. So even if your stupid theories were right, which they aren’t because my wolf, who has never steered me wrong before, knows Zane is his own, then it still wouldn’t make any difference. Zane is mine. I am his. We are mates and I love the blond fucker. There is no spell on earth that can make me feel that way. It’s what’s in my heart.”

“But you can’t be the Alpha of the pack with Zane as your Alpha Mate, you need someone like me at your side. We can rule the pack together.” Cole had regained a spot of fighting spirit from somewhere, but Dax was beyond caring what Cole thought. He wished he’d never cared what the stupid man had thought. Cole had taken friendship and warped it into some sort of twisted obsession.

“Even if Zane hadn’t come into my life when he did, you still wouldn’t be Alpha Mate. Even if you were the only eligible wolf in the entire country, you still wouldn’t be Alpha Mate. I would rather die alone and never be Alpha than take you as a mate. Why can’t you get that through your thick head? I care about my pack, which you don’t. I care about their well-being and I want to keep them safe. You only care about you, getting laid and scrounging off of anyone with a spare dime. You will never be Alpha Mate, pack second or anything else while I have breath left in my body!” Dax probably should have been ashamed of yelling so loudly, but honestly talking to Cole was like hitting his head against a brick wall, for all of the good it was doing. But it was the sound of applause that diverted his attention from a stunned looking Cole.

“Well said, Mr. Portrain.” A tall, older looking gentleman stepped forward, flanked by Broz, Van, Seb and Royce. Zane stood to one side, his eyes glowing red as they fixated on Dax. “I’m Anton Shalom, Council Elder and representative for wolf shifters.”

“Elder Shalom.” Dax remembered his manners and stood up straight, bowing his head. “It’s an honor to have you here in Portrain.”

“I wish it could be under better circumstances.” Anton’s eyes twinkled as he smiled at Dax. “I understand there is some confusion about the status of your mating with this handsome vampire here.”

“There’s no confusion on my part,” Dax said, looking at Zane who wasn’t giving anything away as per usual. “Zane is my fated mate, the one man I have been blessed with for life. I admit I caused my mate some hardship originally, but we are now double claimed and I have given up my position and my pack so that we can be together. I don’t see what the problem is.”

“And yet we’ve had a complaint from… a Mr. Cole Peterson. That would be you I take it?” Anton fixed Cole with a fierce glare, which stopped Cole in his tracks. It seems the shifty wolf had been trying to slink out of the door unnoticed. Under Anton’s glare, Cole came forward, almost doubling over with his show of respect.

“Yes, Elder, sir. I felt I had to get the council’s intervention,” Cole groveled, his eyes going everywhere except on the imposing man standing in the middle of the room. “I don’t know what sort of magic the vampire used, but everyone knows it’s not possible for wolves to mate outside of their species, and with Dax in line to be Alpha within a matter of a few months, I was trying to ensure that he could keep his position.”

“So you think the Fates were wrong, that they made an error in judgement when they paired up Dax and his vampire?”

“The Fates wouldn’t do that,” Cole exclaimed in horror. “With a vampire mate, Dax can’t be Alpha. The pack will never accept him. Dax has been raised to be an Alpha all his life. The Fates wouldn’t do anything to interfere with that.”

“I don’t think any one of us can say what the Fates may or may not do,” Anton said firmly. “Personally I have two mates, both Fae, and yet I served as Alpha for my pack until my sons were old enough to rule and then got elected onto the Council. Do you think my mating was the result of magic too?”

Dax almost laughed out loud at the look on Cole’s face. The silly man either had to insult the Elder by proving his point, or admit he was wrong. It seems Cole decided to do neither. “The fact still remains that the mating between Dax and that bloodsucker shouldn’t be allowed,” he said staunchly. “Regardless of what might happen in other packs, our pack won’t stand by and let their Alpha be mated to an outsider. The pack is already terrified that a coven has been recreated in the area as it is.”

“And that would be your fault, wouldn’t it Cole.” Dax stepped forward remembering all that Warwick had told him earlier. “You’re the one spreading all of the gossip, filling the pack’s heads with fear and old wives tales. That vampires are murderers, who can’t control their feeding and who will feed on any hapless soul that crosses their path. The only thing I don’t understand is how come no one in the pack can tell that you are lying, including my father.”

“I can answer that,” Seb said, also stepping forward waving a piece of paper. “It seems one of Cole’s little booty calls is also a witch who specializes in making potions that mask emotions. She has already been taken into custody, because of course selling those potions, or giving them away in exchange for sexual favors in this case, is against the law, especially when it threatens the security of a pack, or interspecies relations. The jigs up Cole, you are going away for a long time.”

“NO! I will be Alpha Mate.” Cole screamed, leaping at Dax as though ready to tear his head off. Dax crouched ready to defend himself, but the attack never came. Cole was suddenly frozen in midair, the look of hatred and anger still etched on his face.

“What the…” Dax looked around, but couldn’t see anyone but the Elder and the vampires. Anton grinned and called out, “You can come out now, my sweets.” The air shimmered in front of the Elder and two people appeared – a beautiful shapely looking woman with dark hair down to her knees, and another equally beautiful man. His hair might have been shorter, but his ass was just as attractive. Dax looked away quickly before he got himself into trouble with an Elder.

“Was that okay?” The young woman asked Anton, turning up her face for a kiss the Elder seemed more than happy to give her. Then he popped one on the full lips of the man beside her, his gaze indulgent and caring. “You did beautifully,” he assured them while winking at Dax. “Now you can see why I never have to travel with any guards. These two are more than capable of keeping me, and any other innocents safe when I need them too.”

“You’re a very lucky man sir,” Dax said respectfully, keeping his eyes averted. He may be mated, but he wasn’t dead below the neck.

“So are you,” Anton said coming forward and taking Dax’s hands in his. “Not all wolf shifters find their mate, and even when they do find them, they often refuse them because of a dozen different, stupid reasons. You are a decent, brave man Dax Portrain, to not only take what the Fates have offered you, but to stand by your decision, regardless of what others may think or say. You’ll make a good Elder one day.”

Dax didn’t think that was likely. He wasn’t even going to be an Alpha, let alone an Elder, but he smiled his thanks and watched the others all bustling about, transporting Cole out of the club, and then heading off themselves. Finally only Zane, who was still lurking in the corner of the room, remained. Zane waited until the heavy front doors of the club slammed shut before approaching Dax, his face as enigmatic as ever in the half light.

“Is something bothering you, babe?” Dax was feeling a bit off kilter and he quickly ran his mind over the last hour trying to think if he had said or done anything wrong. Zane didn’t say anything at all until the two men were standing chest to chest. Despite the tension in the air, Dax couldn’t resist taking a deep sniff of Zane’s scent. It never failed to calm him.

“You love me.” A statement, not a question, with the capacity to slug Dax’s balls and kick them into gear. Zane’s voice was normally deep, but for some reason in the empty club, it seemed so much deeper, and hellishly arousing. Dax struggled to remember the actual words Zane had used.

“Yes,” he said, when it all fell into place in his brain. “Yes, I love you and have for some time.”

“And you didn’t think that maybe I needed to be told that first, instead of hearing you yell it at your scum-sucking-ex-friend Cole?”

Oh, yes. Well. Possibly. Probably. Dax wasn’t sure what to say. “I thought you could tell from my blood.”

“I knew there was something different in your blood, I just hadn’t tasted it before so didn’t know what it was exactly.”

“Well, now you know.” Dax said brightly, suddenly nervous and agitated for a whole different reason. Zane was looking at him like he was prey, and nope, that shouldn’t happen to a wolf shifter. Definitely not an Alpha wolf shifter, but damn, if he didn’t have the urge to run, praying all the while that Zane would chase him.

“I also heard that you consider yourself mine.” Zane’s voice went impossibly deeper, and Dax longed to grab the man and ravish him. Totally ravish him. Or run, his wolf was undecided.

“Yes, I am pretty sure I said that too.” Zane wasn’t touching him, so he wouldn’t touch his mate, but oh hell and fucking firecrackers, he wanted to.

“Then I think it is about time I took what’s mine, don’t you?”

Gulp. Dax preferred to top. He was a definite top. Sure, he’d let Zane top him so that he could be claimed, but he was a top as a rule. But when Zane took a deep breath and then moved, dragging Dax at top speed through the club and up the stairs to their now shared apartment, faster than anyone could see, he figured that this was going to be one of those situations that proved the rule by breaking it.

Chapter Fifteen

Zane ducked around a tree, and then crouched down behind a large bush. It was a clear night and the full moon shone brightly, bathing the coven grounds with a soft grey light. He could hear Dax snuffling around in the undergrowth, scenting him out. When Dax had asked him if he wanted to go running with him, Zane had felt honored and just a tiny bit sad for his mate. His wolf should be running with others of his kind, and yet when Zane had suggested it, claiming he had no problem if Dax wanted to return to pack grounds for the night, Dax had adamantly refused.

So Zane had suggested hide and seek, after spending a long time just loping along beside Dax’s furry form while the wolf sniffed out small animals, checked out scents and peed absolutely everywhere. Zane was sure it was some territorial thing, but really? The wolf was stopping every few minutes peeing on one bush, and then another, and then another. It was like the wolf had an unlimited bladder and Zane wondered just how dehydrated his mate would be by the time they got home.

For now, though, he was hiding. Zane knew that Dax could find him easily enough, nothing seemed to escape his wolf’s nose. But the wolf seemed happy to play, teasing things out before he jumped on Zane licking him madly. The first four times it had happened, Zane had laughed, tickled Dax’s furry ribs and then sprinted off. He was faster than Dax, which was the only way he had of making this an interesting game for his lover. He could hear Dax getting nearer and he braced himself, waiting to be jumped on.

But Dax didn’t jump. He growled and Zane’s senses immediately went onto high alert. There should have been no one else on the coven house grounds. Broz and the others had gone into town for the night, happy to give Dax and Zane some privacy. But Dax was growling up a storm and that could only mean that someone was intruding on his territory. Zane crept out of his hiding place, and saw Dax standing in a clearing, facing away from him growling and showing his teeth at a stand of trees.

Without a word, Zane went and stood by his mate, searching the tree line for signs of life. There, a set of eyes gleamed in the moonlight, and then another set, and another. Four animals, probably wolves. Zane felt his eyes change and his fangs drop, his fingers extending into claws. This was coven territory and the only wolf with any right to be on it was Dax.

“Come out,” Zane yelled. “Come out and show yourselves.” One by one, four wolves slinked into the clearing. They were a fair size, but nowhere near as big as Dax. Zane had been expecting signs of aggression, but these wolves scuttled forward, almost on their bellies, their heads tilted to show their necks.

“I don’t speak wolf, so at least one of you will have to shift.” Zane wasn’t going to let up on his own aggression until he knew what the intruders wanted. Dax had moved so he was standing right in front of Zane – sweet, but totally unnecessary. Zane could handle himself perfectly fine against four wolves. It wouldn’t be pretty, but it could be done. “Shift and speak or I’ll fucking run you off our land myself.” Zane tilted his head and knew his fangs were clearly visible, his eyes flashing red with anger. Cowering or not, these wolves shouldn’t have come, and they clearly weren’t people Dax trusted because his wolf was still snarling and showing his teeth.

There was a shimmer in the air and then a tall man took the place of one of the wolves. Dark hair, not as long as Dax’s, but curlier, deep brown eyes, muscular build. Lance. Zane remembered him from Dax’s office.

“What do you want Lance? This is coven territory and you have no right to be here without getting in touch with our coven leader first.”

“My apologies.” Lance bowed his head, but his words were clear. “We needed to see Dax. The Alpha sent us.” He took a deep breath and even Zane could tell the man was upset. “The Alpha, Dax’s father, he’s been attacked. He’s gravely hurt and no one is sure if he’ll last the night. He wants to see you Dax, he sent us to ask if you’ll come.”

The wolf in front of Zane shimmered and Dax’s perfect naked form emerged. “I don’t understand Lance. My father is loved in the pack by everyone. Was there a challenge, did he lose? If that’s the case then the winner is your new Alpha and I can’t go on the pack grounds under that situation. Not without issuing a challenge myself.”

“It wasn’t a challenge, it was an underhanded ambush.” Lance looked disgusted. “It was that dead-beat Cole. Your father was running with Alice and Cole attacked her just like the coward he is. Your father got hurt trying to save her.”

“Where were you? Father never runs without his enforcers.” Dax was getting angry now, and while Zane wasn’t sure what exactly was upsetting his mate, he stepped closer, wrapping his arm around Dax’s waist. He didn’t like Dax being naked in front of anyone, but even Zane knew this was not the time to discuss it. He was pleased when Dax leaned into his body as though craving his touch.

“We were there, well, within yelling distance.” Lance looked down on the ground. “Your father was, well, you know, with Alice, and we…we were just trying to give them some privacy. By the time we realized Alice was yelling in fear rather than pleasure, Cole had already got to your father.”

“Where’s Cole now?” Dax stood up a little straighter, but he didn’t move away from Zane.

“Dead. His attack on the Alpha and Alpha Mate was unprovoked, cowardly and…” Lance shook his head. “You just don’t go attacking someone when they’re busy with their lady, you know?”

Zane pressed his lips tightly shut, he wasn’t sure that laughing was an appropriate response. Dax seemed to be having a similar problem although he recovered quickly.

“Please convey my respects to my father and Alice,” Dax said firmly. “However, my mate is not welcome on pack grounds and I won’t go there without him.”

“Your father’s dying.” Lance urged. “The pack needs you. They don’t know what’s going on. First the worry about the vampires, and now this. We need you at the pack house. The pack needs your strength.”

“And I have already said I won’t go there without my mate by my side, which is where he should be during a family tragedy. Zane wouldn’t be safe with the lies Cole has been spreading through the pack. How the hell did the man get away from the council anyway?”

“The Elder placed him in your father’s custody. With the pack out on a run, I guess he escaped.” Lance didn’t sound too sure of himself and Zane wondered if someone did believe the nonsense Cole had spread and had let him out, thinking he was doing the right thing. No one would have believed that Cole would attack the Alpha and Alpha Mate. But Zane had a more pressing problem to deal with and he turned Dax gently, so that they were facing each other.

“I’ve always said you would make a wonderful Alpha, and now it seems the time has come for you to prove it,” he said gravely staring into Dax’s bright green eyes. “You are going to visit your father and yes,” he added when he saw Dax open his mouth, “I am coming with you. I’m more than capable of looking after myself. But you would never forgive yourself if you didn’t at least say goodbye to your father this one last time, and you can’t turn your back on your pack when you care about them so much.”

“I’m terrified you’ll get hurt. I don’t know who I can trust in the pack anymore.” Dax was torn, Zane could tell that without the benefit of enhanced senses.

“We’ll come with you,” Lance said, stepping forward. “We’ll protect you and your mate. I meant what I said in your office that day. I don’t care if your mate is a vampire, he is yours, he is claimed, and if your father doesn’t make it, then Zane becomes Alpha Mate. You can trust me and the other three men here, I give you my word.”

“I have Broz on speed dial,” Zane offered. Dax worried his lip with his teeth for a moment and then nodded.

“Okay, I need clothes and a vehicle immediately. Zane, can you ring our friends and ask them to join us at the pack house. Lance, we’ll come with you, but I promise you if one person lays a hand on my mate then I will kill you all and leave your bodies to rot in the dust along with the rest of the pack.”

Lance bowed his head low and the other wolves whined and showed their necks. “Understood.”

/~/~/~/~/

Dax’s nerves were a jumbled mess, and he was grateful for Zane’s silent presence by his side. Lance had parked their vehicle only a few minutes’ walk from where Dax and Zane had been playing, and like most shifters, had clothes in the back of the SUV suitable enough for Dax to cover himself. When the three others wolves had shifted, Bruce, Joe and Tom, they all bowed their heads and shown the proper respect to Zane when they introduced themselves, but Dax was still edgy. He was worried about his father, he was worried he might not be enough to save his mate from a possible attack. He was worried about his pack, and wasn’t that just as confusing as all get out? He was worried about the people who posed the biggest threat to the man he loved.

His nerves didn’t lessen when Lance pulled up in front of the pack house. There was a huge crowd outside and when Dax stepped out of the vehicle, with Zane by his side, again he could see the respect in everyone gathered, but he wasn’t sure that Zane was safe. Pulling on the teachings from his father, Dax shook some hands, patted a few heads and murmured words of comfort to Annie, one of the eldest women in the pack who stood crying at the bottom of the porch steps.

It was the same training that had him turning on the porch, standing to face the crowd, with Zane slightly behind him. “My friends, I know this is a difficult time. I understand you are worried about my father, and I thank you for your good wishes.” Dax saw Warwick in the crowd, standing next to his mother and he remembered what the man had told him. With Broz and his friends coming onto pack land, he felt he had to say something to prepare the way.

“I know many of you have been taken in by the lies the coward Cole has told you. Tales generated to incite fear and anger against a species not our own. Cole was using magic himself so that you would be taken in by him, a formula used to mask his emotions so no one could scent his lies. However, the Portrain coven have offered their help and support during this difficult time, and I expect every single pack member to show them respect and courtesy when they arrive. They will be coming here because my mate asked them to be here, because they respect how hard this situation is on every one of us. Please, I ask you in my father’s name, don’t let him or your pack down in this time of trouble.”

Nodding heads was not an overwhelming show of support, but Dax let it go just this once. The pack was unsettled and it would be a difficult few months for everyone if Nathaniel died. Taking Zane’s hand, he said to Lance, “I want you and Bruce to keep an eye out for the coven, they will be here directly. They are to be brought to me as soon as they arrive. Joe, you and Tom will escort me and Zane to my Father’s room.”

With Zane’s firm hand in his, Dax walked through the house he’d grown up in, acknowledging the greetings of staff and other pack members, but refusing to stop. His father wanted to see him, and that had to take precedence over everything else. It wasn’t until they stood outside of Nathaniel’s bedroom door that Zane stopped him, pulling him aside.

“Are you sure you want me to go in with you at a time like this. My presence may agitate your father and if he is hurt, that might not be a good thing for him. I am happy to wait here for you, if you prefer. The rest of the coven are only five minutes away.”

“My father has had plenty of time to adjust to our mating,” Dax whispered sternly. “Misguided or not, it is time my pack started facing facts, and the best person to convince first is the Alpha himself.” Zane nodded and brushed his lips across Dax’s and Dax took a deep breath, centering himself with Zane’s scent. With a mental,
I can do this
, Dax indicated for Joe to knock on the door, and when the call for entrance came, he strode through it, stopping short at the sight of his father lying crippled on the bed.

Nathaniel had always been a larger than life man in Dax’s eyes. He was big and powerful and always acted as though the world on his shoulders never gave him so much as a neck twinge. Now, in his bed, blood splattered, wheezing with every inhale, his skin pale and covered in a grey tinge, Dax was hit by the mortality of the man and all at once he was a child again. A child who needed his father’s approval. He hurried over to the bedside and took his father’s hand, shocked at how cold it felt in his.

“Father, I came as you asked,” he said softly. Nathaniel opened his eyes and Dax could see death lurking in them. Lance was right, his father would not last the night. Nathaniel opened his mouth and tried to speak, waving his free hand at Alice, who was huddled on the other side of the bed. Dax hadn’t even noticed her but he watched as she carefully held a glass and a straw to her bonded mate’s lips, allowing Nathaniel to drink a little before pulling it away.

This time when Nathaniel opened his mouth his voice box seemed to work. “You came, and you brought your mate with you.”

“He is my everything, and he would not think of leaving me when times are hard. He supports me as a mate should.”

“Things are going to be hard for you,” Nathaniel said. “You will rule this pack in my stead. But Cole…” Nathaniel broke off, coughing long and loud into a handkerchief that Alice held for him. Dax was worried when he saw blood spotting the white cloth, a stark reminder of the damage Cole had caused. Not that he needed a reminder. Dax couldn’t recall ever seeing Nathaniel in bed, even as a child.

When Nathaniel had recovered he gasped out. “Cole has damaged this pack with his lies and his treachery. You will need to keep your friends close. I was too stubborn. I should have listened and now it’s too late.”