“I have a meeting with the regional coven leaders upstairs. If you need me for anything don’t hesitate to interrupt,” Gabriel said as David and Daniel stood back, leaving just Ashby in his arms. Daniel snorted.
“That’s because you know that asshole Dorian is one of the leaders coming today.”
“You should not speak disrespectfully of a coven leader, Daniel. But…you’re right. He is an asshole,” Gabriel agreed.
“I’ll be fine, see? Everyone here will keep me safe,” Ashby said, pointing to the coven members.
“OK my love, but we will need lots of snuggle time to get me out of my bad mood after the meeting is over,” Gabriel whispered in Ashby’s ear. Ashby blushed.
“Deal!” Reluctantly Gabriel let go and walked across the room toward the door.
“Come on Roman, it is your job to keep me from killing these sycophants,” Gabriel said, striding out the door. Roman rolled his eyes.
“Lucky me,” he said in his deadpan manner and followed his prince up the stairs.
Ashby looked at David and Daniel.
“So. Want to order pizza?” he asked, smiling.
Chapter 11
Ashby was on his second slice of pizza when he felt it. At first it felt like a tugging, a slight pull. But then the pull became twists in his soul and he started to feel bruised. He was rubbing his chest when David spoke.
“Ashby? What’s wrong? Oh God were you poisoned again!” David demanded, staring aghast at the half eaten pizza in front of them.
“What’s wrong?” Baptista asked, stepping forward from the doorway to put a hand on Ashby’s forehead.
“I feel strange, but not like before. It’s like someone is pulling on my insides,” Ashby explained.
“Oh right, because that sounds so much better,” Daniel quipped.
“It’s not a sharp pain, more like a terrible sense of wrongness. I don’t know how to explain it.” Ashby frowned. Above them a dreadful roar reverberated throughout the entire club. Ashby looked at the twins and Baptista.
“I thought the VIP rooms were soundproof?” Daniel asked, sounding scared.
“They are,” Baptista confirmed. Ashby rubbed his chest.
“There he is! Thank God he’s OK!” Roman yelled from the doorway. He was holding his left arm which dangled at a wrong angle and his chest was covered in deep bloody furrows.
“Ashby, Gabriel needs you upstairs now!” Roman yelled. Ashby stood and took off down the hallway and up the stairs to the VIP level. He saw coven members standing outside the conference-room door visibly shaken. Ashby approached the doorway and stopped when Montana was thrown through the air from the conference room to slam into the wall in the hallway. He fell to the floor covered in plaster and dust and didn’t move. Another roar was heard, and Ashby clapped his hands over his ears.
“Is this him? Is this his mate?” a shrill voice demanded.
“Yes, this is our Prince Ashby,” Baptista said from behind Ashby, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Good, send him in there. He can calm him down,” the stranger said.
“I am not sending Ashby in there with some unknown assailant, where is Prince Gabriel?” Baptista demanded. A low guttural snarl was heard.
“That is Coven Leader Dorian to you, roughneck. That creature you hear is your Prince Gabriel. We were in the middle of our meeting when he started snarling and growling before he lost his mind. If this man is his mate, he may be the only one who can approach the prince in this state,” he explained.
“Let me go! I have to get to him, he sounds like he’s in pain!” Ashby twisted out from under Baptista’s steadying hand and ran into the conference room only to stop dead in his tracks. The room was trashed. A man he had never met before lay on the floor unconscious as Lauri, Rhys and two other men stood in a semicircle around a creature.
“Easy Ashby, Prince Gabriel has shifted to his most primal state, he may not recognize even you,” Baptista said as he eased into the conference room and stood behind Ashby.
“Lauri, report,” Baptista called out.
“Mid-meeting Gabriel started to growl. First his eyes shifted to red, then his hands grew claws. He stood and his body lengthened and his fangs dropped further than I have seen any vampire’s fangs go before. Then he gave that ungodly roar and started trashing the place going after everyone,” Lauri said as the four men maintained a loose circle around Gabriel.
“Gabriel?” Ashby asked softly. The creature’s head swung around to stare at Ashby. Its head dropped back and he began to sniff the air. It bobbed on its feet staring down the four men.
“Gabriel it’s me, Ashby,” he said. Stepping forward, the creature started a low purr sound.
“OK that’s encouraging. Go slow, Ashby.” Baptista took small steps behind Ashby.
“We need to keep him busy for a few moments longer. Roman, David and Daniel headed to the infirmary to get the tranq gun we keep on hand for shifter crowd control,” Baptista explained.
“Keep talking to him.”
“Gabriel, remember me? It’s your mate, Ashby.” Ashby felt the tears drip down his cheeks.
At the word mate, Gabriel stood his full height and roared in anger, going wild and taking swipes at the men in front of him.
“We’re here,” Daniel said.
“Clear the way, get us a clear shot,” David yelled.
Ashby turned to see both twins down on one knee taking aim with what looked like elephant guns.
“No! You’ll hurt him! No!” Ashby kicked and fought as Baptista wrapped an arm around his waist and swung him out of the way covering his body. That was when Gabriel went crazy. Ashby could hear the roars and the men’s screams followed by the sound of four shots being fired. Then there was silence.
“Let me up! Let me up!” Ashby demanded, pushing against Baptista’s heavy frame. When they both stood Roman was ordering Lauri and Kurt to secure a set of chains around Gabriel’s hands and feet.
“Why are you doing this? He is your prince!” Ashby demanded, getting in Roman’s face. He stepped back when Roman looked at him with tears coming down his face.
“I know he is my prince. I know,” he said brokenly. All around him Ashby could see the devastated expressions of the coven members.
“What happened? Why is he like this?” Ashby asked as Lauri and Kurt started to carry Gabriel out of the room.
“Where are they taking him!” Ashby tried to follow but Baptista and Roman blocked the door. David and Daniel ushered the visiting coven leaders out of the conference room and gave orders to Rhys to make sure they were seen to in the VIP lounge before shutting the door and turning to face Ashby.
“What is happening?” Ashby asked, his voice breaking.
“We all believed they would attempt to kill you to get to him, but this is an attack directly at the prince,” Baptista said, wrapping an arm around Ashby’s shoulders.
“With the prince incapacitated, the coven leaders will try to take advantage of the situation. I bet they are downstairs now scheming while the prince is indisposed.” Roman snarled at the thought.
“It’s why we sent Rhys with them, he has the best hearing,” David said, staring at the conference table that was broken in half and winced.
“Ashby we can’t keep you safe here anymore, we have to get you home to Arkadia. If the prince recovers we can send for you,” Baptista started.
“No! No way! I am not leaving my mate. He needs me.” Ashby stuck out his chin defiantly.
“We can’t protect you here,” Baptista said sadly.
“I’m not leaving,” Ashby insisted.
“Ashby…” Daniel began.
“No. Either I am your prince or I’m not. Either I’m your prince’s mate or I’m not. You choose.” Ashby stared down the four men. He watched as they looked questioningly at each other. Finally Roman sighed.
“What would you have us do, Prince Ashby?” Roman asked, bowing to the small shifter. The other three men bowed as well.
<
br /> “I need a moment to myself. Can you make sure that the coven leaders aren’t causing trouble?” Ashby said, straightening his back.
“Yes, Prince Ashby.” Roman smiled, laying a hand on Ashby’s shoulder for a moment before turning and dragging the twins away.
“We’ll be online looking for causes,” Daniel yelled as they were pulled out of the room.
“I’ll be just outside the door, come out when you’re ready,” Baptista said sympathetically. Ashby 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 h
e 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.