Page 81 of Accidental Blood Lust
“Mm-hmm.” There’s no hint of surprise or anger in his expression. “And how exactly did that happen?”
“We were attacked by some vampires who were tweaked out on fae blood. They’re connected to the consortium, and they were the same vampires who attacked Jareth when he was young.”
Cassius frowns.
“We had no choice but to kill them.”
“That explains it, then.”
“Explains what?”
“A vampire I know called for me. Turns out the vampires you killed have been causing a lot of problems. They’ve aligned themselves with this organized fae crime group, which is not something vampires do, and they’ve turned on their own kind numerous times. Granted, they were compromised by the fae blood, but it was always going to end this way. They couldn’t be rehabilitated, so they had to die.”
“So, it’s not bad, what we did?”
“Not in this case, no, but there’s a bigger problem now. There’s a gang of these vampires, and of course the consortium remains an issue. We’re going to have to do something about it.”
“What do you mean ‘something’?”
“I mean, dear baby vampire, a supernatural war. Us versus them.”
“All of them?”
He nods solemnly. “All of them.” I watch as he drains his glass and sets it down. “We’ll have to tell Auri, of course, and it will take all of us and some allies to get it done.” He offers the slightest of smiles. “In the long run, you’ve done a good thing by exposing this mess. The Nocturne Consortium has been a plague on our world for a long time, but until recently, they mostly dabbled in small affairs. They seem to be escalating, so to keep the peace, we have to end it.”
I nod, exhaling on instinct though I don’t exactly breathe normally anymore. “Okay. How do we start?”
His expression shifts to one that almost looks like concern. “We have to draw them out of hiding.”
“How?”
“You.” He scrunches his nose. “Roman will hate it, but they want you. It’s the quickest way.”
“That’s fine.” I don’t really want to see any of them again, but I started this, so I have to finish it.
“It could be dangerous, Loch. We aren’t dealing with bumbling idiots here. They are fae and they are not easy to overcome.”
“We’re vampires. Roman is a wolf. Aren’t we strong enough?”
“Together, I believe we are. I’m hopeful that Rune and Jareth can add something to the mix as well. We’ll need it all.”
There’s a heavy pounding on the door and I know right away that it’s Roman. I feel him.
“Come in, Wolfie,” Cas says casually.
Roman bursts in, hurrying straight over to me. “What’s wrong? I feel your fear.”
“It’s not fear. Not really. More… concern. Anxiety, maybe.”
A minute later, Jareth arrives too. “What’s going on?”
I glance at Cas, then back at my two mates. “We’re going to war.”
ROMAN
“What do you mean?”
Cas explains while Jareth keeps his arms wrapped around Loch. Anger rises in me like a volcano on the verge of erupting. Of course I knew we’d have to deal with these assholes at some point, but I’m not excited about the timing. I want to be with my mates, I want to share my bite and my knot with Jareth. I want to nest with them.
