Blood Wars, D. Richardson [summer beach reads TXT] 📗

holding his wrists behind his back. It was a great technique to hold humans, but useless for vampires. I reached behind him and used the nails on my thumb and forefinger to snap the flimsy plastic. Then I turned to the man holding him hostage and calmly took the remaining seat.

“Now, you have my attention. What is it you hoped to gain from this exactly.” I asked, just as calm, but Devon opened his mouth to say something in anger, but one look from me and he shut his mouth. I did not need him making the situation worse than it already was.

“As I said, we merely wished to gain you’re company.” Blondie said with a smirk that bordered on a sneer. He was trying to regain the upper hand.

“Is my company worth such foolish actions?” I asked evenly and his eyes narrowed. “Mr…” I was looking for his name, I was getting tired of thinking of him as Blondie. His smile returned.

“You may call me Blake.” I nodded.

“Well, Blake, this was quite extreme when you could have easily just approached me on the street.”

“You have been staying on our territory for months now.” He answered putting an emphasis on the word ‘our’. “So far we have seen no action from you. You have not attempted to contact us, and then one night we sense, not only three more vampires, but a full pack of werewolves as well. We could not help but to suspect you being behind it. It is after all in our nature, to protect our territory.” I nodded slowly. This was what I suspected.

“Yes, the new comers came here for me, however I have no interest in your territory. I simply wished to be left in peace.” Devon moved gaining the attention of the tension filled room. He didn’t move to sit but stand behind my chair. From the outside it would look like a submissive move, however, I knew it to be that he was simply covering my back.

“You must realize how unlikely that sounds, Miss…” He was looking for my name and I figured it was time to pull my Ace out of my sleeve. I smiled slowly at him and he gulped again.

“Jaide, Jaide Black.” The vampires in the room gasped and Blake’s eyes widened then lowered to the floor for a moment until he gained his composure.

The irony of the situation almost caused me to laugh. Every vampire knew my heritage. While this is the modern age, vampires still hold some traditions of the past. Some might even be old enough to remember it. And as old fashioned as we vampires tend to be, they always kept themselves up to date as to who their royalty was. When a new member of the royal line was born or died, word spread like wild fire. They all knew my name, and they all knew I was the equivalent of their queen. Not only because of my blood line, but because of it‘s purity. I was stronger than any and all of the vampires in this room, combined. And if there’s one thing vampires respected, it was power.

“I beg your pardon, Miss. I did not know. I had no idea he was your human. I truly meant no offense.” Blake stammered with his eyes wide and his torso leaning forward in urgency. I waved him off.

“Yes you did. You just didn’t know who you were offending. Next time, I suggest you find out first. If you don’t, you might just end up hurt.” My threat was just as apparent as his had been earlier and he nodded his head vigorously.

“Now, as far as the intruders on your territory. They are here because they were searching for me. They are nothing for you to worry about. They will be leaving shortly. Although I must ask, what exactly is it that you do here?” I asked with raised brows. He bowed his head slightly and I had the overwhelming desire to smack him.

“The gangs in the city are getting awful. They spread unneeded violence and blood shed. So me and several of my close friends decided to lend a helping hand to the humans. We took over some of their gangs and moved them out of the city. Now the worse they have to worry about is some graffiti and a little petty theft. Some of the youngest human members were sent back to school and back to their parents, provided their parents were of a stable home.” As he spoke I felt my eyebrows going higher and higher.

“So you took over the gangs to save the humans and a few kids?” He nodded.

“Precisely, when you came we feared that you were one of those that would take over and reinstate the violence that had previously been going on. That is why we came on so strongly. We had to try to establish fear for any that would attempt to take over.” I nodded in understanding, then stood. We had to get going before said intruders barged in assuming the worst.

“Well, though you’re actions are admirable, I must be going.” He stood with me.

“Your majesty,” I cut him off.

“Don’t call me that. This is the twenty first century, Jaide will do.” He nodded instantly.

“Jaide, is there anything that we can do to assist you?” I shook my head then hesitated slightly.

“Not right now, though you could do me a favor. I have a feeling that I will be leaving this town soon, there is a human I’ve grown close to. Her name is Kathy, and I fear for her safety once I’m gone. She ran from her abusive father and I suspect he is still looking for her. She is not legally allowed to live on her own, and I worry. I would appreciate it if you could look after her while I’m away.” Again he nodded instantly.

“She will not come to harm for as long as I live.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, he was being a little extreme.

“Do you wish us to protect the witch as well?” He asked and I looked back at him in slight shock and he shrugged. “She has been here longer than we have and we have picked up her scent more than once.”

“She can take care of herself, but keep your ears open for her. It would be nice if I could keep in touch with you though.” I added with sudden inspiration. Since the others found me it wouldn’t be unheard of if the hunters could to. It would be an added comfort if I could set up a safe house or two just in case. “I have a few unsavory people looking for me.”

“Of course, if you ever need us for anything, you can always find us here, and my phone is always open. I have connections all over the country. If I can get it for you, it’s your’s.” I nodded.

“Again, I appreciate it.” With a dismissive nod I turned and left the warehouse with Devon not far behind me.

Chapter 3

It was a twenty minute walk to my apartment. I stayed ahead of him and thanked my lucky stars that he didn’t try to talk to me. Being this close to him, where I could smell his scent, and sense his warmth behind me, it made me a little dizzy. And I couldn’t help the sadness that overwhelmed me.

I couldn’t help the love that I still felt for him. But all it took was the memory of all the things he said, everything that he believed of me, to harden my resolve. I wasn’t lying when I told Blake that I would be leaving.

I didn’t want to be around Devon, couldn’t be if I wanted to retain what was left of my sanity. There was a time when all I wanted was him. When all I could see was a happy life with him. Now when I thought of him all I felt was sadness and a strong sense of loss.

When I opened the door to the apartment, everyone stood. Devon walked in behind me and I kicked the door closed behind him. He didn’t say anything, just went to the corner and sat facing the room, but it didn’t look like he was looking at anyone in particular.

Belle walked in from the bathroom and spotted him. I watched as she gave him a once over, then she turned to me. Carefully assessing me to make sure I wasn’t hurt.

“So this is the one that caused all the trouble.” There was a double meaning to her statement and I gave her a nod to answer both.

“Well if its any consolation I can see why.” I gave her a small smile then turned my attention back to the room. Everyone was looking at me, except for Matt and Sam. They were watching Devon with worry leaking from them in waves.

I turned to watch him for a moment. Now that I thought about it, he wasn’t acting like himself. Ordinarily he would have been demanding answers or at least conversation. But he hadn’t said a word since I had seen him. Especially since Belle was a new arrival and someone he didn’t know. He should have asked who she was by now.

Then I noticed what I had intentionally been ignoring. He was pale, and covered in sweat. His eyes were glazed and his breathing was labored. I listened closer and his heart beat was too fast.

I knelt down in front of him, but he didn’t even react. Again, not like him. I put my hand on his forehead and tried my best to ignore the warmth that spread through my chest. He had a fever, which he shouldn’t since he was sweating. I waved my hand in front of his eyes, but got no reaction, it was almost like he was blind, but I knew that wasn’t true.

Finally I checked the bond, and felt nothing. It was like it was just a void in my mind. But since I could feel the void I knew the bond wasn’t gone, and it wasn’t me. It was him. He literally felt nothing. I spun to others and they flinched from my quick movement.

“How long has he been like this?”

“Not long. Well, not his bad anyway. He’s been having night sweats a lot and he’s been really cranky. He’s been snapping at everything, and he hasn’t been eating or drinking anything. We’ve had to fight with him to eat almost everyday.”

“How long?” I asked again.

“A couple of weeks I think.” Matt said solemnly. I touched Devon’s shoulder and barely pushed. He fell over with a thud and I straightened him out. I stood and looked down at him.

He looked, he looked like he was in the middle of the…. My eyes widened and I dropped again, this time next to his head and I forced him to open his mouth. When he opened it and I was sure that he wouldn’t snap my hand off I pulled back his top lip. There right above his canines his gums were swollen, making way for new teeth.

I leaned back on my heels and rubbed a hand over my face. I looked at the rest