Darkest Prince (17 page)

Donald held up his hands in exasperation. “I would like to hear the previous one, but precede Mrs DeLuise.”

“I called a meeting with you to discuss a new strategy for policing our kind. Hunters have the full support of the government when it comes to killing vampires – now, I appreciate that I was a hunter, but I would like to know why such support isn’t offered to the vampires. As we know, corruption doesn’t only happen with the vampires, I have been shot at several times by hunters who have been bribed.”

Donald clasped his hands together on the top of the desk and said “How do we police the vampires? I’m afraid that there is very little we can do to assist them.”

I stood, feeling a little bit outraged by his attempts at sweeping my concern away so flippantly. “That is where you are wrong. You assume that the vampires are happy with the arrangement that you have with Hunter. Carlos by his own admission had his own agenda for working alongside the government.” I flicked a glance at Carlos, he didn’t look angry, so that was a bonus. “It seems to me that you think that the vampires are not worthy of forging an alliance with the government.”

“My dear – with all due respect, vampires are not known for adhering to rules.”

I snapped “With all due respect sir, I imagine that it has been a very long time since you have spent anytime in the company of a vampire – you came here today armed with two men and two guns, it shows me that you know very little about vampires. I’m sure that you have many a sad tale to tell me of how a vampire was trafficking humans, young girls… If you had gone to King Marco or Prince Dario, do you think that this matter would’ve been ignored? They would’ve acted against their kind. They would’ve exacted justice.” I paused briefly, “It’s time to get things in order, if you truly want me to work with you, then you must look at forging an alliance with the vampires. Now, let’s take a small break to allow Mr Logan and Mr Matthews the chance to discuss a new strategy that both parties will be happy with, it will also give me time to think about the new threat to us.”

Turning to Carlos I said, “I want to speak privately with Dario.” Carlos went to speak but I held a finger up and said “I want and need to have a few minutes with my sire, and then I want to spend some time with you, alone.”
It wasn’t a direct lie, I did want to spend time with him, and I did want us to be alone, but only so I could keep the peace for a little while longer.

Exiting the room, Dario followed me.
Mackinley and Arius were in hot pursuit. I took him into an adjoining room. Mackinley and Arius took up positions outside of the room and I waited until he closed the door before speaking. “You made me believe you were dead… You blocked me from your mind. Do you have any idea what you put me through?” Accusation was heavy in my voice. He’d hurt me and left me broken.

His face was full of emotion, anger, hurt but the one that stayed was one of pain.”“I wasn’t blocking you Shyla, I nearly died. I wasn’t strong enough to communicate with you. Through the bond, I could feel every emotion that you went through, it pained me greatly to know that I was causing you so much heartache. ” Dario stepped closer and held up a hand for me to go to him. I couldn’t move
, it was as though my feet were frozen into place. Carlos had nearly succeeded in killing Dario. “When Carlos bonded with you, it nearly killed me again.”

“
He was trying to ease my pain…. If he knew that you were alive, he wouldn’t have bound me to him.” I wasn’t sure why I was trying to make things right between Carlos and Dario, I wasn’t even sure why I was trying to defend him, but I was. “I couldn’t function without you, I was a mess.”

Dario crossed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around me. My mind and body felt whole. Peace and love radiated through our contact. I sank willingly into his embrace and felt a wet trickle of tears slide down my cheeks as he tenderly kissed the top of my head. “
Only death would keep us apart. If I didn’t have you in my life, then I fear that I would’ve given up the fight.”

Guilt ate away at me. I’d had sex with Carlos and Dario knew, yet here he was offering me comfort and love.
How could I confess to having sex with Carlos? “Dario, I… I…”

His strong gentle hands cupped my face and he tilted it up so he could meet my gaze. “Shhh, let’s not speak of it. They were dark times for both of us.” Sensual lips descended on mine. I felt his tongue seeking entrance to my mouth and opened
up to him, welcoming his taste, his touch, needing to reacquaint with each other all over again. “I will find a way to break the bond with Carlos, you are mine Shyla.” It wasn’t a threat – it was a statement of fact and one that I hoped would come sooner rather than later. I had no doubt that Dario would find a way to make me truly his once more.

His hands gripped me and held me close as he devoured my mouth. I wanted more, so much more, but this wasn’t the time and it certainly wasn’t the place. I knew that Carlos would be able to feel my emotions, yet I couldn’t stop the tsunami of wild emotions running through me. I wanted Dario, and judging by the way his erection was pressing against my stomach; he wanted me just as much.

Banging on the door and hearing Mackinley and Arius raise their voices had us pulling apart. Carlos was the other side of the door. I was doing little to ease the friction between Uncle and Nephew.

I quickly reminded myself that none of this was my doing – Dario had sired me without seeking my approval and Carlos had bonded with me to ease my pain. Two men had committed to me, probably for their own selfish reasons, and now the government wanted me to be a part of their team – if things weren’t so nebulous and
if I knew which direction I was going to turn, I might have found it amusing!

“I will make things easier for you Shyla, I will return to the conference room and give you some time with Carlos. You would do well to remember that I can feel your emotions
through the bond. I will find a way to cast him from your mind Shyla, even if I have to sell my soul to the devil. I will not share you.” Dario caught hold of the back of my head and pulled me against his firm chest. He kissed me hard and left me breathing erratically before taking several long strides to the door and opening it. Carlos waited for Dario to leave before entering.

His face was hostile, his body language said angry. What did he expect? Dario was my
sire; I was attracted to him, his looks, his personality, and his swoon worthy body. The fact that he was good in the sack was an added bonus.

I ignored his outraged look and smiled warmly at him. “That meeting went better than I expected, but I have to ask, did you know that the government had a seer amongst them?”

Carlos folded his arms, and tried to look relaxed, but I had been around people long enough to know that he was still annoyed. “I did not know of the seer, I suspect that there is more to the team than they are letting on…. Which brings me to my next point – I want us to take them down Shyla, but now you seem hell bent on working with them, why?”

“Know your enemy
Carlos; it’s one of the first lessons in the assassin 101 training manual.” This statement bought a small smile to his face.

They actually wanted the hunters to gain as much knowledge about their intended target as possible. We usually had to watch them from a distance for a day or so before going in for the kill. It was simple, observe, note all the little nuances and brash behaviour, see if they had a routine, if they kept to popular places or enjoyed the shadows to move about from place to place. Make a n
ote of who they socialised with. Basically, learn as much about your intended kill in as little time as possible – and all this, whilst not getting seen.

I gestured to the sofa and perched on the edge of it hoping that Carlos would join me. After a brief silence he sat down.
His thigh touching mine was no accident. If I let myself, I could feel his need to touch. It scared me that I would want to touch him back. Not because of Dario, but because I was seeing two different sides to Carlos, one side, he was charming and gentlemanly and as sexy as hell, but the other side, he was almost evil. Anger burned beneath the surface and ate away at him. “I need to find out who the good guys are Carlos. I need to find out about this dark magic user who wants to wipe us out, and to do that, I need allies. I need to know who and what I’m up against.” I caught hold of his hand and gently rubbed my thumb across the back of it. “I can’t be caught up in the age old feud and power struggles between you and your uncles there is more at stake here than a royal title.”

Carlos gently tugged me against his chest and held me close. “
I’m not your enemy Shyla, nor do I care for the position of King… I’m trying here to be who you need me to be but it’s not easy.”

“It’s not who I need you to be Carlos, it’s who you should want to be. Strive to make a difference
, not hold on to your father’s grudges. Nothing has changed in all those years.”

He held a finger to my lips and stopped me from speaking. “Everything has changed, I have you.”

I had lived my life in solitude, waiting for instruction of my latest contract kill. The only regular contact I’d had was the phone calls from Hunter. I was mixed up emotionally. Dario was my sire, he was everything that I could possibly ask for, and more. Carlos was my boss, to learn that he was of royal linage and now declaring that everything had changed was absurd. No words would form in my mind, I was a lost soul, needing and wanting Dario and Carlos in my life.

It was wrong to want to be with both men. The bond between Dario and me was strong in so many ways. He offered me strength, love, compassion, sheltered me from his pain not wanting me to experience his troubles. Yet the bond between Carlos and me was different. It made him want to be a different person, kinder. He wanted to change, wanted to become a better person, and he wanted me, needed me to
help him become who he deserved to be. It was a conundrum, one that I couldn’t figure out. I was thankful that Carlos had bonded with me to ease my pain, to ease my grief. It was probably the kindest act that he had ever preformed. Yet I also knew that he had done it for selfish reasons.

Part of me revelled in the fact that I could be the one to make his life better, but to do that I would
have to stay, and that would hurt Dario.

Upon entering the conference room, I noticed that Dario was talking with Grant. I could see a heated exchange and noticed that the King was listening intently.
Carlos took his seat at the top table, obviously wanting to hear what Dario and the seer were talking about. I sank onto the empty seat next to Marco and whispered, “What’s going on?”

Marco shook his head and caught hold of my hand. “The seer is being very judicious with his answers.
” He paused briefly. “To break the bond between you and Carlos would indeed break the bond between you and Dario.”

“But it can be done right?” Hope flared. “If the bond is broken then we could, you know
, make the bond again?”

He patted my hand before releasing it, “
If the sire bond is broken, Dario will stop at nothing until he has wiped out everyone who meddled in his affairs. You are his chosen life mate, the one to bear his child. The only reason that Carlos is still alive now is because he knows that you want to resolve the feuding royals and unite us in some way.” He gave me a pointed look, one that made me feel guilty for wanting a happy-ever-after ending.

Was it such an impossibility? They were all in the same room and no blood had been spilt
, yet! This was such a phenomenal moment; one that they surely could see would benefit them greatly.

“There are more important things at stake than a falling out between the royals. Did you not hear that there is someone trying to wipe out our very existence?”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Did you not take note when Dario explained to you about a witch and a vampire creating a son? The very same son, that killed his own mother? The witches have been seeking revenge for almost a century Shyla. It was not news to Dario or myself.” Marco raised his eyebrows as he waited for a response from me. All I could do was shrug my shoulders and let out an exasperated sigh.

There was so much that I didn’t know about. Yes I’d been told about Demetrio, Marco and Dario’s brother, the mating between a witch and a vampire, but I never gave it much consideration. I had been told about Carlos sowing his wild oats and the children, hunters, reproducing and being trained as assassins. Hell, I was one of them. Maybe I should’ve taken more notice of Dario when he told me the Carlos had killed his parents. I’d just assumed that was all there was to tell, now I was learning about retribution from the witches and dark arts being used as a way of getting revenge against the species that killed one of their own.

“Magic runs deep in Carlos, he fights a lonely battle to remain true to himself. He feels the dark art weaving through his soul. He aligned himself with the government to try and control the darkness within. Yet it still controls him. It is a part of his very essence. The seer now knows that magic is present within Carlos but doesn’t know how deeply entwined it is within his soul.”

I lent closer not wanting anyone to hear our conversation. “
So what happens now?”

“Now we fight
an unknown enemy. Whether that enemy is Carlos, or the work of the witches, we will have to wait it out and see how this unfolds.”

My brain was on
information overload. Running away and burying my head in the sand was an appealing thought, but sadly not an option. “If you thought that Carlos is the enemy, why haven’t you killed him?”

“For all of his faults, he is family. We were hoping that the witches would kill him before we had too.”

Movement caught my eye. Dario had ended his conversation with Grant and both men looked annoyed.

Donald Logan gestured to the chair in front of the desk. I dutifully sat and waited for him to speak. Carlos draped an arm across the back of my chair and I felt Dario’s displeasure through the bond.

“Mrs DeLuise, there is so much to discuss and I fear that the daylight hours will be upon us very soon.” He glanced at his watch before standing up from his chair. “We would like you to come back to office with us. There we will go over the details of the job offer. You will have to undergo vigorous training that will facilitate your role, should you choose to accept.” I could feel the tension in the room go up as anger flared. Power radiated off Marco, Dario and Carlos.

The government goons held their guns tighter and cautiously surveyed the three royals.
Donald gave a small shake of his head and the goons relaxed slightly. I couldn’t help the feeling that something was wrong. Normally such power evoked a response in my nether regions, but the only feeling I had now, was one of wrongness.

I reached for the link and called to Dario.
‘Something is off, everything feels wrong. Can you feel it?’
His voice in my head was weak.
‘Magic, the bastards are using magic.’
Carlos tried to speak through the bond but his voice faded to nothing.

Donald snapped me from the link by speaking.
“Mrs DeLuise, it is imperative that we take you now. The witches know that we have convened here and are channelling their powers.” Wind whipped around us causing my heart rate to speed up as fear crept in. Vampires and Hunters I could deal with, but this, this was an unseen force. How did you fight something that you knew nothing about? How did you fight against something that you couldn’t see or feel? I quickly glanced around the room and saw that all of Dario, Marco, Carlos’s and the guards were frozen into place. My first response was ‘Oh shit!’ before sense made me quickly take stock of the situation.

The two goons were moving towards me
pointing their guns at my heart. Grant was muttering to himself, it was then that I realised that he was chanting.

I
n a blink of an eye, I stood, grabbed my chair and twisted, lifting it in the air and hit one of the government guards, knocking him out of the way. A round of bullets flew across the room as I leapt towards the other guard. I’d ripped his throat out before his finger pulled the trigger. Donald ran from the room, but I couldn’t worry about him now, I had one guard and Grant Matthews to take care of.

I rounded on the guard, knocked him out before leaping across the table towards Grant. Thick acrid smoke was filling the air as Grant continued to chant, flames
quickly licked across the ground towards me. I danced about the room to avoid the flames, but they kept coming. I knew I had to take out their creator, but to do that, I was going to burn, but I would rather do that here than in hell!

I leapt the distance between us, he held out his hands to ward me off, I was a little unsure if flames or an orb of power would come from his palms. Deciding that either way I was fucked if I didn’t act,
I grabbed hold of him, forced his head to the side and sank my fangs into his neck, ripping it away like a rabid animal.

His blood was thick and tasted vile. As I dropped his body to the floor
, I spat mouthfuls of the disgusting goo from my mouth, but some had slid down my throat, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. The wind, smoke and flames died along with the creator. I heard a couple of curses and knew that the men were free of the spell that Grant had been chanting.

I gathered a gun and sprinted out of the door, giving chase to Donald. I heard a door bang further along the corridor and ran tow
ards it. It had some sort of lock preventing the door from opening. I fired the gun at the panel and shorted the circuit. Giving the door a hearty tug, it flew open.

Determination that he wasn’t going to get away spurred my pursuit. He’d made it outside and into a vehicle that was heading away from the complex.
I skidded to a halt on the asphalt and fired the gun, hoping that one of the bullets would hit the bastard. Little sparks bounced off the rear of the car as the bullets bounced away. Damn!

Hunters spilled from the building. They took one look at me with my fangs still drawn trying to decide if I was a threat to them or not. One raised his dagger and let it fly towards me.

A scuffle broke out and I heard someone say “Don’t hurt her, she’s belongs to Carlos.”

It was a nice attempt but not good enough, the dagger was protruding from my arm. I tugged it free and tossed it to the ground. Gasps of horror broke free as Dario pushed his way through the crowd to get to me.
The Princes guards took up positions around the small gathering making them even more nervous. Dario batted one young hunter out of the way as he attempted to stick a dagger in Dario’s chest. “Imbeciles, can you not see that I am trying to get to the Princess?”

His gentle hands tilted my face up to his. I noticed that he frowned before saying
, “Are you okay?” I gave a small nod of my head and rested against his chest, happy that the incident was over. I felt my legs wobble a little. It was probably adrenaline leaving my body, making me feel like I had run a marathon. “I want you to take some of my blood my sweetest Shyla, come, and let us find somewhere private to do it.”

He scooped me up in his arms and carried me away from prying eyes. I heard
Carlos instruct the young hunters inside and tell them to return to their rooms until further notice. I couldn’t help feel a little bit sorry for them, they had no clue what shit was going to rain down on them.

Dario stopped in the middle of a small private garden. He lowered me down and spun me around before stripping off my top. Pain radiated from injuries that I never knew that I had. My skin was angry and weeping where the flames had caught my top. He tugged off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt as I reacquainted myself with his fine form. My fingers trailed
down his bare chest and stopped at the top of his suit trousers. Desire pooled down below and Dario’s face lit into his sexy-as-hell smile. “As much as I would love to bury myself deep inside of you right now, we can’t. You need to heal.” He tilted his head to one side giving me access to his neck. My incisors lengthened and slowly sank into his neck. His hands cupped my backside and lifted me up. I could feel how much he wanted me, and that was enough, for now.

I’m not sure how long I was feeding from him, I heard him in my mind, telling me that I had taken enough.
I pulled away and sealed the bite marks. Dario’s eyes widened when he looked at me. He lowered me to the floor and tilted my head from side to side. “Your eyes are no longer red Shyla, they are ice blue now.” I didn’t care about my eyes not being red; I only cared about why they had changed. Dario smiled and said, “Because you have recently fed from me, your vampire nature pushes the hunter in you to the background. You will always be part hunter-part vampire, but right now, my vampire blood is ruling who you are. The vampire in you is coming to the forefront.” Great, I had a split personality and the vampire in me was winning!

Dario held up his shirt for me to wear. He slid his jacket on and asked if I was ready to go back.
I gave a small nod, reluctant to go and face everyone. He held me for a little while longer.

Dario eventually led me back inside the training facility. Thane and Khalon were in the hallway and nodded respectfully to Dario as we passed.  I half turne
d my head and quirked an eyebrow at Dario, giving him a questioning look; he winked and looked straight ahead.
I felt and heard his soft chuckle in my mind before he answered out loud, “Of course I know them. I released them from my charge several decades ago. They are here to keep my nephew in line.”

I gave my head a shake and walked the length of the corridor wondering just how much Marco and Dario knew about their nephew. They had both had the chance to kill him, yet neither of them had. They had gone out of their way to ensure that their nephew thrived, even loaning out a couple of vampires to keep an eye on him.
My heart grew a little bit bigger as my love for this man swelled. He knew that Carlos was his enemy but because he was family, he protected him from himself. Dario bent his head so he could whisper in my ear. “The first rule for vampires, know your enemy.” He winked and pushed open the doors to the conference room.

The guards still lined the walls, but now the young hunters were in the room.
All looking scared witless. I saw the youngster from the training room and smiled warmly at him. He gave a small nod and smile before taking in the Prince at my side. Each young hunter either looked scared or bewildered. No amount of training could prepare them for coming into close contact with so many vampires. Their hearts would be going like the clappers.

King Marco spoke out loud as we entered,
“Donald Logan fled the scene, and Shyla dispatched one of their prized possessions. We know that the witches are seeking revenge. Carlos, it’s time to forgive and forget past deeds and concentrate on the unseen enemy. We are a superior race and will not let the humans dictate our fate. Nor will we let the witches eradicate us for my brother and your mothers joining. It is time to show the world that we will not go down without a fight. It is time to make a stand and protect our most prized possession. The Princess holds the key to our continued line. Will you join with us dear Nephew and help to protect Shyla and bring our enemies to their deaths?” He turned and held out his hand to Carlos. I waited anxiously for Carlos to accept.

Carlos
looked at the proffered hand considering his options. Finally he gave a small nod of his head and shook hands with his uncle. I let out the breath I’d been holding in.

Carlos held out a hand to Dario, ready to make the same commitment to forgiving and forgetting in the name of saving both the hunters and the vampires. Carlos looked between Marco and Dario and
calmly said, “I will join forces with you and unite our species, but once this particular war has been won, we begin another battle, only this time it’s not about me claiming my place as King, this time we fight for Shyla.” His eyes found mine and I saw unwavering conviction staring back at me.