Fated for Forever [Kindred of Arkadia 3] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) (13 page)

nodded.

When the door closed behind Baptista Ashby fell to his knees, biting his knuckles to prevent the sobs

from being heard outside the room.

Oh God, oh God, oh God. What do I do? What do I do? Oh Gabriel, please come back to me!

Ashby felt as if he were going to fly apart. He had maneuvered his way into a position of authority to

stay with Gabriel but he had no idea what to do. Out of nowhere, as clear as if she were standing beside

him, he felt Rebecca’s frustration with him. His hands flew to his pockets and he pulled out his cell phone.

Seventeen voicemails and thirty-two missed calls from Kate, Rebecca and Nic. He sobbed, cradling the

phone to his chest, when it rang for the thirty-third time. He answered and continued to cry.

“Ashby? Ashby are you there?” a male voice asked over the phone. It was Aleks Arkadion.

“I–I–I’m here. Oh Aleks, I don’t know what to do!” Ashby wailed.

“Calm down. Are you hurt? Are you in a safe place to talk?” Aleks asked gently.

“I’m not hurt, it’s Gabriel who’s hurt. They shot him with tranquilizer darts, but he was going crazy.

They were going to make me leave, but I can’t leave him. I told them I was their prince since I was mated

to Gabriel. I don’t know what to do.” Ashby clutched the phone to his ear and shook.

“OK, take deep breaths. You are not alone Ashby. Now, one thing at a time, you said Gabriel is hurt,

how did he get hurt?” Aleks’s strong, calm voice soothed his fraying nerves.

“We don’t know. I was downstairs eating pizza with the twins. He was upstairs with the coven leaders in

a meeting. All of sudden we heard roars and screams so we ran upstairs. Gabriel was snarling, he didn’t

even look human anymore.” Ashby wiped his tears.

“He was fighting everyone. He calmed down for a second when he heard my voice, then they had to

shoot him with tranquilizers. They put chains on him and then carried him away. I don’t know where he is.

Baptista and Roman wanted to send me back to Arkadia,” Ashby said, starting to get mad.

“Baptista is the one entrusted to keep you safe. If he wants to send you back here, he doubts they can

keep you safe while you’re in Purgatory.” There was a pause and then Aleks yelled to others in the

background.

“Connor, Emmett, you’re heading to Purgatory. Don’t trust anyone, not even the coven members, your

only
job is to keep Ashby safe,” he heard Aleks say.

“Really, you want to go? No I’m sorry Nic you can’t,” he heard Aleks ask. His heart soared. He

desperately wanted to see Nic.

“Nicholas, if you go, then Connor and Emmett’s attention will be divided between the two of you. It

could give the enemy the opening they need to get to Ashby—yes I know. I’ll tell him.”

“OK. All right Ashby, you have help on the way. Connor and Emmett are leaving now. They should be

there in about an hour. They will keep you safe, stay with them at all times. Nic wanted to go too, but we

can’t afford the extra men to keep him safe,” Aleks explained.

“I understand. But Aleks, I made them acknowledge me as their prince, they bowed to me. I’m no

Alpha!” Ashby said, pulling his legs to his chest, resting his head on his knees, rocking.

“Ashby, you are stronger than you think. Being an Alpha is like owning a business. Sometimes you can

plan for everything and find yourself facing a scenario you never could have imagined. Being a good leader

isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about being strong enough to ask the right people for help. Call me if

you get stuck. Gabriel is old enough that if he isn’t dead by now he
will
recover. You just need to hold shit

together until he wakes up. Don’t agree to anything, don’t sign anything. If someone asks your opinion say,

‘That is a very interesting point of view.’ You can do this Ashby, Rebecca and I have faith in you,” Aleks

said warmly.

“Where is Rebecca? She is being surprisingly quiet.” Ashby sat back feeling like he might be able to

face the world now.

“Oh, um, I told her that you would want cake no matter what the problem was, so she is in the kitchen

baking and crying. I don’t think she has realized I got through to you yet.” Aleks was talking in almost a

whisper.

“Of course I know you got through to him. His emotions calmed down nearly ten minutes ago.” Ashby

heard Rebecca’s voice over the phone and he smiled.

“Give me my damn phone!” There was a pause.

Less than a second later Rebecca’s voice came over the line.

“Are you really OK, Ashers? You were in so much pain.” Ashby could hear her sniffling. He forced

himself to smile.

“I’m going to be OK. Aleks is sending help. I can do this,” he said, more to ease her mind than because

he believed it himself.

“Of course you can, honestly Ashby you aren’t the half-wit doormat you think you are,” Rebecca

argued.

“I don’t think I’m a doormat!” Ashby protested.

“See, you’re not,” Rebecca countered.

“What?” Ashby asked confused.

“Exactly!” Rebecca said. Ashby stared at the phone exasperated before bringing it back to his ear.

“I love you Becca,” Ashby said, feeling like he had just stepped into the sun after being locked in the

dark.

“I love you too Ashers. Now show those vampires who’s boss!” Rebecca said excitedly.

Ashby ended the call and stared at the picture of Rebecca beaming up at him from his contact list. Aleks

was right, he wasn’t alone.

Chapter 12

“I demand accommodations!” the coven leader Dorian screeched in Roman’s face. Ashby clenched his

fists and stepped forward. He could see Roman grinding his teeth.

“Purgatory isn’t just a club, it is also this coven’s home. You have no right to impose upon us to see to

your needs. Prince Gabriel is recovering as we speak. I see no reason for you to stay at all,” Ashby said,

wedging himself between Roman and Dorian. The tall, slender man looked down at Ashby with a sneer on

his face. Ashby wanted to shift and scratch the man’s rather pointed, rat like nose.

“How dare you speak to me that way? You are nothing. Shifters cannot assume the title of prince.

You’re just a well-used hole that our prince is playing with. You have no authority here,” Dorian spat out.

Ashby felt the blood drain from his face. It took every ounce of determination in him to fight his body’s

natural instinct to drop his eyes to the floor. David and Daniel’s words flooded his heart. He was their

prince and if he allowed this man to treat him like a whore, no one would be safe.

“Baptista, if this man speaks to me like that again, throw his ass out and ban him from ever returning,”

Ashby said, staring down the coven leader’s beady eyes.

“Yes, my prince,” Baptista said taking a step closer to Ashby.

“But you’re a shifter,” Dorian said, his eyes going to Baptista nervously.

“I could be a polka-dotted blue alien stepping out of the Tardis—it doesn’t matter. This coven, in

particular these men recognize me as their prince, so when I order them to throw your bony ass out of our

home and make sure they break several bones in doing so, they will do it,” Ashby said, clasping his hands

behind his back taking a more solid stance. He imagined his eyes going cold the way Gabriel’s did when he

was irritated.

“Prince Ashby, are you sure that Prince Gabriel will recover? You must understand, he may be the

leader of this coven, yes, but he is also the fabric which holds our people together. Everyone felt his rage

earlier. We will be fielding questions from our own covens.” A tall blond man stepped forward and inclined

his head to Ashby.

“Before he was sedated I could feel him reaching out. I think it’ll only be a matter of time before he’s

returned to his normal state,” Ashby said with what he hoped to be a convincing smile.

“Thank God!” The blond man exhaled before smiling at Ashby.

“My apologies, my name is Clay Samuels. I run the covens on the East Coast, Dorian Ratcliffe oversees

the Midwest, Jerimiah RunningWolf there leads the Southwest covens and Roddrick Davis watches over the

brutes in the Pacific Northwest and all along the West Coast,” Clay said, introducing each regional coven

leader.

“I wish we had met under better circumstances.” Ashby nodded to each man in turn.

“If he truly is recovering then I’m heading home. I get nervous when I leave my covens alone for too

long. They tend to get into trouble,” the tall, gruff Roddrick said, pulling on a long leather trench.

“Gabriel will be fine,” Ashby said confidently.

He has to be.

“If the prince needs us for anything all you have to do is call, Prince Ashby,” Jerimiah said. Ashby

noticed right away that this man was slightly different than the others and it wasn’t just due to his Native

American background. When he saw the grin on the man’s face he resisted the urge to step back. Jerimiah’s

grin looked like it belonged on a feral beast or a psychopath. It completely contradicted the warmth and

sympathy swimming in his rich brown eyes.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ashby murmured.

“I’m the closest, if you need anything I’m just a couple hours away,” Clay said, his even, cultured voice

sounding as if he belonged in a lecture hall instead of a vampire coven.

“I’m closer,” Dorian protested.

“Barely,” Clay sniffed. Ashby turned his head to hide his smile.

“Thank you for your concern gentlemen, as soon as I allow Gabriel to go back to work, I’m sure he’ll

call you.” Ashby stepped back to allow the four men to pass.

“Allow?” Roddrick stopped in his tracks and raised an eyebrow.

“You’re not mated are you?” Ashby asked. Roddrick shook his head. Jerimiah chuckled and clapped

Roddrick on the back.

“You’ll understand when you get a mate. It seems the smaller and more delicate they are the pushier

they are about keeping you safe,” Jerimiah said as they filed out of the VIP lounge. Ashby stood at the top

of the stairs and laughed. The leaders stopped and turned to face Ashby.

“One of my best friends is the Alpha Mother to Arkadia. I’m taller than she is and her mate is taller than

Baptista, but she knows how to put him in his place.” He winked at the men. Roddrick laughed.

“I’d pay to see that.”

“Maybe someday,” Ashby said with a cordial smile.

“Good evening, Prince Ashby.” Clay waved as the four coven leaders made their way down the stairs

and out the door. As soon as the front door closed Ashby felt his legs give out.

“Whoa there, killer.” Baptista caught Ashby before he hit the floor. He carried him back into the VIP

lounge and sat him on one of the leather chairs.

“I can do this, smile, don’t look down. Smile, look them in the eye. Be confident, do evil Gabriel stare.

Don’t sign anything, don’t agree to anything. Don’t look down.” Ashby recited each action over and over

again.

Roman walked over and took both of Ashby’s hands in his.

“You represented this coven with dignity and aplomb. Gabriel would be so proud, as are we all.”

Ashby looked up to see more faces peeping into the lounge smiling. A lot of the members gave him a

thumbs up. Feeling encouraged he took a deep breath and faced the room.

“Prince Ashby, we couldn’t help but overhear…” one of the onlookers began.

“Because you had your ear to the door…” someone else countered. The first man blushed.

“Anyway! We heard you say that the prince is recovering, is that true?” he asked, his eyes full of hope.

Ashby closed his eyes and shook his head.

“I didn’t think them staying here would be a good idea. Roman looked like he was about to murder that

Dorian guy,” Ashby began.

“Only a little bit,” Roman said straight-faced.

“I actually have no idea when he will recover. Aleks Arkadion said if he hasn’t died by now, he’ll

recover, but I would feel better if I knew what happened to him.” Ashby stood.

“I’ve taken the liberty of calling in Mikhail. This goes above my head. I hope that’s all right,” Roman

said, looking slightly guilty. Ashby looked around and couldn’t miss the expressions of relief on the coven

members’ faces.

“I thought you were all scared of him?” Ashby asked.

“We’re not scared exactly. You definitely don’t want to piss him off. But he has yet to kill any member

of the coven, not even the twins,” Baptista explained.

“He’ll know what to do about Gabriel,” Roman said. Ashby just nodded.

“Then you did the right thing. The sooner Gabriel recovers the better. Aleks Arkadion is also sending

two shifters to help keep an eye on things. They should be here in the next forty-five minutes.” Ashby sat

down in one the chairs.

“The Arkadions are getting involved?” Roman asked, sounding shocked.

“I am bonded to the Alpha Mother and through my bond Gabriel is now tied to Arkadia. Rebecca

Arkadion takes her bonds seriously,” Ashby said, touching his chest where the bond to Gabriel felt faint.

“What do we do?” Roman asked, looking at Ashby. Ashby looked at Roman and then looked around at

the expectant faces staring at him from the coven members.