Revolution

Deacon

I stood back most of that night, reviewing everything that happened with Grace. Carrie was so happy to see her friends. She had lamented to me many times, worried about where they were, if they were alright, or if they were even still alive. I was glad she no longer had that worry. But it was going to be replaced with another one soon.

When she let it fully sink in as to what their plan was.

These teenagers were still kids, and they were planning to work their way up to spy on Curtis. I had to hand it to them. It was ingenious. Curtis spoke freely in front of his pets. He had cycled through many harems for centuries. He only fed from the primest cuts. He would love these kids.

Until he lost control and killed them.

Curtis thought of his harem as nothing more than animals. They had no brains of their own. They were only there to serve his needs. He also used them as incentives and rewards for his most elite, his closest companions.

He would speak plainly in front of them, assuming they wouldn’t understand anything he said anyway. Of course, it was possible they didn’t. The way they were abused, eventually their minds shut down. Lucas in particular enjoyed breaking them in.

I didn’t know what all they had planned, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I didn’t want to take the boy with me. It would be too dangerous for him. But I couldn’t escape the image of Curtis stabbing Colton and kidnapping my angel.

If Grace hadn’t said anything, that’s exactly what would have happened.

I was planning on meeting Eric at sunrise. He said the U.S. had soldiers based around the wall, especially at the gates. Coming with the sunup would help them feel more comfortable around me.

I figured it would be safe enough to pass through the gate again because Carter and his men would be hiding from the sun. My arrogance would have gotten not only me killed, but it would have put my angel in serious danger.

I watched as the twins became very popular with the Nightwalkers. Vampire or human, males always had a thing for twins.

Many years ago, I had male twins as donors. They were just as popular. It was how they paid their way through med school. My usuals were sad to see them leave. Last I heard, they were both doing well, both married with children of their own now. One of the brothers decided he preferred men after their time here. But they were all happy, and safe. In Florida.

Grace sat back, not advertising herself to the extent she usually did. Her eyes kept moving to Colton and Carrie, the fear in her scent permeated the air around us. It made me want to grab my mate and best friend and run for the hills.

Which was ridiculous.

Carrie hugged her friends goodbye, a few hours later, a big smile on her face. I could still feel the relief and joy she felt every time she saw them. I caught Colton watching her as well. He had the concerned look, the planning one. He was making back up plans. No matter how long we had been away from our clan, he could never shed the habits of a soldier.

“If I am not back by noon, get her out of here. I don’t care where you have to go. Just get her out.” I told him, with both our eyes on her as she locked the door. “Promise me.”

“You have my word. I will not let harm come to her. In return, you have to promise me something.” He turned and gave me that deep stare. “If there is even the slightest chance they will see you in the sun, or anything else that will give you away, you hide on the other side of the wall. I will protect her, but you need to protect you. The two of you are sealed. That is the one thing that did not match in the vision, if you had been killed, she would have died along with you. Curtis may not want to kill you. He may just lock you up and torture you for the next century. You have to keep yourself alive, and free, to protect her.”

“Will both of you knock it off? Grace said as long as Todd goes, everything will be fine.” We turned back to my mate, who was standing across the serving bar from us, her hands on her hips.

“And how do we know we can trust her? It is not easy to trust in the vision from a witch. They have been known to lie and twist things to get their own way.”

I inwardly hissed, Colton was a braver man than I. Especially considering the look he was being given. I took a step away from him, putting distance between us. This was his fight not mine.

“First off, keep in mind that I am a witch too.”

“That’s not…”

She waved and cut him off. “Second, trust me. I grew up with a clairvoyant witch, not all of them are untrustworthy.” Carrie put a hand to her chest. “I felt her sincerity. I felt her concern and terror at what she saw. I also felt her anxiety over telling us about her gift.”

Colton leaned across the bar. “Yes, but how do you know where the anxiety stemmed from? She could have been anxious about lying!”

Carrie sneered at him. “I am much better at sniffing out a lie than I am at reading intent. For example, your whole touching me to help protect me thing…yeah… lie!” She waved her hand at him while speaking, then pointed at him harshly when she accused him. “You just wanted an excuse to touch me.”

Colton was the one hiding the smirk now. “Yeah, and you pretending you didn’t want it was also a lie.”

She shook her head, dropping both hands to her hips. “No, that was called denial and being human. You both just couldn’t leave well enough alone and had to do the vampire version of drugging me to get me to cave. Jerks.”

We all were laughing. I was feeling a little better now that they weren’t arguing so heatedly. And a little excited for what had the potential of coming next.

Carrie sighed and stepped back. “Grace has had no one to help her with her gift. I could feel the anxiety coming from that. While I spoke with her earlier, I could tell that she was terrified at the idea of Todd going with Deacon tomorrow. He is nothing but a human child. And I don’t think she handled him not being here tonight very well. From what Raya told me, he didn’t like her leaving him behind either. But she didn’t want to risk him being low on blood, just in case. She’s also scared because she is the one who convinced the rest of them to follow her plan. If anything happens to any of them, she will be to blame. That is a lot to put on the shoulders of a 17-year-old girl.”

“Then why is she doing it? Why doesn’t she just hide in that little apartment, and stay safe?” I made my way around the bar and stepped closer to my mate.

Carrie waited for me to reach her before answering me. She clasped her hands around mine after I encircled her.

“Because the visions came to her. She feels a duty to be the one to follow through. She has the warnings, the tools. Can she trust anyone else to do it right? Grace will put herself in the lead. She will be the one to take on Curtis, just like she is the one to take on Carter. And Todd will follow her, keeping an eye on her. It is the burden that goes along with the gift. My mom got lucky, she was married to a cop. If she saw something, she told him. He would play it off as a tip from an informant. Grace doesn’t have that. And in this case. Who would she call?”

Colton deflated and walked around the bar, coming up on my angel’s other side to hug her and kiss her head softly. “I’m sorry I got upset with you. I wasn’t trying to offend you.”

She patted his cheek. “I know. I could feel the intent behind your words. It didn’t change that they still irked me, but deep down, I knew what you meant.”

I just chuckled. “Are we ever going to be able to surprise you with anything?”

She was getting better at reading the intent from others. She even warned us a few times, since we all came clean, when a certain client was going to go over on time on purpose or would be too rough with a donor. One time, she told us when a Nightwalker planned to force the donor for more than they were volunteering. Colton stopped them before they made it to the table. I told Alicia to take the girl’s place.

Colton’s theory was that my angel’s powers had been getting stronger because of my blood. Her whole body was stronger, her health. The same way she had made me stronger. For the first time in my long life, I could probably beat Colton in a fighting match.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t know. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.” She grinned and looked at me and then Colton. “You are always welcome to try though. I do love surprises.”

I could feel that tingly feeling, the one coming from her. I was debating on how to act on it when she spoke again.

“What are we?”

Colton brushed his fingers through her long blond hair. “What do you mean, sweetheart?”

She nibbled on her lip, her eyes bouncing back and forth from one man to the next. “I don’t think I know how to say it. Deacon is my mate. Which is supposed to be like a marriage thing in the human world. Also in the human world, Colton would be considered my boyfriend, or my side piece, or Deacon’s side piece, our pool boy, handyman, cable repair guy, or whatever, but we are all together in this. So, what are we?”

Well, I guess that explained some of the confusion I still felt from her from time to time. She needed a label. I looked at Colton. He didn’t look like he was going to be of any help.

I moved a lock of hair behind her ear, causing her to turn and look at me. “What do you want us to be, angel? Nothing will change the fact that you are my mate. You carry my mark. In the vampire world, that is not always needed to claim someone. What do you want us to be?”

“See, none of that makes sense to me.” Her face twisted like she was in pain.

She laid her head against Colton, and I felt the sting of guilt come through her again. Was she feeling guilty for dragging Colton into our relationship?

“Angel, a vampire can have more than one mate at a time, even when they aren’t marked. As I told you before, it is up to the mated pair what they want to do.”

I looked up at Colton, seeking his thoughts, his permission, before I verbally tied him to us. It wouldn’t be as permanent as the bond between Carrie and I, not physically anyway.

Colton looked down at her and then back at me. He nodded. He was willing to do it.

“Angel,” I took her head and turned it to face me, stepping in closer, trapping her in the way I knew she liked. “Colton can be our mate as well. If that is what you want. I told you before, he and I have always been close.”

Now her guilt was turned toward me.

Was this how she felt reading everyone’s intent all the time? I was glad I could only read hers. It was handy when it came to understanding my mate, my angel, but it would be annoying on a regular basis. Having no choice but to always think about the feelings of others? Yuck.

“I would not be jealous or offended if you care for him as well. I know you love me, and I know you share part of my soul. Nothing will ever change that.”

Colton rubbed a hand up and down her back, doing what he could to soothe her. He knew her as well as I did now, even without the added connection.

Carrie turned her face to look at Colton.

“I would be honored to join your mating, sweetheart. I love both of you. I know Deacon comes first in your heart, which is as it should be, as he is your fated mate. The fact that I own even a little bit of this beautiful heart of yours is enough.”

A small tear slid out of my angel’s eyes. I caught it with a kiss, and she smiled.

“I love you both, too. And, as long as you don’t mind. I think I would like the whole mating thing with both of you.”

I laughed as Colton kissed her for the first time. He’d been afraid to do that, as it spoke of a closer intimacy. Something he was afraid she would shy away from. As soon as he released her, I stole my angel back. I kissed her hard, then threw her over my shoulder.

A moment later I was dropping her on our bed.

“Do we have to do the whole blood trading thing again, because if you are leaving tomorrow, this would not be the best time for that.” She said with a grin.

We both laughed.

“No. I will not be trading blood with you sweetheart. There are some things a fated mate would not be able to share, even if he was willing.” Colton knelt in front of her, pulling the little zipper on her top down. “Besides, we would run the chance of weakening the bond, which would weaken both of you. We need you both at full strength. We will continue as we have been. Nothing has changed for us, just the knowledge that will help you feel more comfortable and accept what Deacon and I already have. That you are ours.”

He stood up and moved to the side, both her clothing items in his hands now. Mine were already on the floor.

The next morning, we took our time lying next to each other. Internally, Carrie was a ball of anxiety. I think on some level, we all were.

We went through our morning routine in silence. Everyone lost to their own thoughts. Even through the human shift, we were all subdued.

Once they were all gone, Carrie couldn’t hold it in anymore. She broke down crying into my neck. I just held her close, while I could.

“Bad time? I seem to always be interrupting things when I come in.”

I laughed as the small hand left my chest and raised her middle finger at Grace. Grace laughed.

“We need to go, angel.” I kissed her head softly. I dragged my knuckles down her neck as she picked her head up off my chest.

“Do you want to feed one more time before you leave? You won’t be home tonight. I don’t want to risk you growing weaker.”

“And what about you?”

She gave a small, amused huff. “I will be fine. Technically we don’t have to do that every day now, remember?”

“Oh, but I think we do.” I lifted my eyebrows a few times, teasing her.

She scoffed and hit me. I loved the small blush that covered her cheeks. My smile dropped. The idea of feeding from her in public was an intoxicating thought. But I didn’t want to risk leaving her weaker.

“If you don’t mind, angel.”

“I never mind, Deacon. At least not now that you do it while I am awake and with my permission.”

Colton barked out a laugh. It was my turn to flip him off.

Carrie tilted her head and gave me the access I needed. Instead of taking her up on her offer, I left soft kisses there.

“I don’t want to risk it with you. As I said, I will be fine. But thank you.” I kissed her one more time, then looked up at Colton. He was already close by, so he took her in his arms.

“If I’m not back by noon.” I reminded him.

He bowed his head slightly. “As you wish, your highness.”

I pointed at them both sternly. “You will not leave this bar, and you will not go far from him. Do you understand, angel?”

Carrie rolled her eyes. “Yes. Pretty sure I learned my lesson with that already. Now go, so you can hurry up and come home already!”

I chuckled and turned to leave. Todd and Grace were in a similar position near the door. I smacked him on the back.

“Let’s hurry up and get this over with.”

I led him toward the back of the bar, and out the back door to where my truck was waiting. I froze for just a moment, as I felt something new run from my angel to me.

Anguish was the only word I could even come close to describing it. The pain nearly took my breath away. I rubbed my chest and looked back at the door that was now closed.

“Deacon, she’ll be alright. Grace checked again this morning. That first vision is gone.” Todd said, opening the passenger door and climbing into my truck.

I followed him. When I had the truck backed out, I responded. “I know that. But it doesn’t change the pain that my mate is going through right now.”

“How do you know what she is feeling?”

“One of the perks of being magical beings. Vampire Borns are born with only half a soul, which is why we are not hampered down by all the morals the humans put on themselves. Our fated mates are born with the other half of our souls. When we find that person, and mark them as our mate, we seal our souls together. We can feel what the other feels. I can feel the pain my angel is in, and the fear she has knowing that something may go wrong.”

“But she’s human.” His voice could have either been of disgust or just confusion. Considering the work he did for me; I was sure it was the latter.

“No. She’s a witch. Just like your girl is, or part anyway.” I shot him a small grin as I merged onto the empty freeway.

He didn’t look surprised, so they must have shared with him what happened already.

“There was a time when our fated mates were only of the same species. Eventually, my people started finding them in others. It took a lot of adjusting too. Mixed matings were frowned on in the beginning. So much so, that one vampire, caught up in the moment, bonded with his mate, who was a witch. Then he betrayed her because he was too afraid to say something to the female vampire he had been seeing. The witch found him, then put a spell on all the vampires in the kingdom, putting them to sleep. Her and her coven went through and killed all the females in our kingdom. The next morning, her mate woke up to a headless corpse and a note, telling him what they did. And about the curse they put on our people. See, my kind are born as vampires, we are not created. Their curse made it to where we were unable to birth females.”

“So, what happened to your people with all the females gone? Why was that curse needed if you didn’t have women to get pregnant in the first place?”

“We can procreate with all species. All bodies are biologically the same. It is the magic within them that is different. Humans do not have that magic. Their bodies are weaker. We tried using them to continue our line, but most died in the process, or during childbirth.”

“Are you worried about Carrie getting pregnant? Is that what Curtis meant in the vision about the old blood and why you mated her?”

“Yes. His type does not understand the call of a mate, or love in general. But he is old enough that he would know of her importance. Carrie is a pure-blooded witch. The odds are good that she will survive. And if not, she will take me with her to the grave.”

Todd gasped in shock and disbelief. “You would kill yourself and leave your child behind? Knowing it would be in danger?”

“It would not be a conscious choice. Or a choice period. With our souls sealed if one dies the other dies.”

“But in the vision, Curtis said you were gone. And she was still there.”

“But did he say I was dead? He would know that if I had bonded with her, she would have been dead too.”

Todd thought about what he had heard for a minute. “I don’t think he did. I think Grace said he said that you were of no consequence.”

“I think, in that reality, Curtis would have kept me somewhere. Curtis and I have battled many times in the past. I was tired of all the fighting and hiding. Since I can be in the sun, I wanted to live a normal life. Many of my kind are living among humans.”

“Why can’t the other vampires walk in the sunlight?”

“They were created. They once lived as humans and were turned into vampires. For most, it was a choice they made. They have to drink a certain amount of our blood to make the transformation. I can’t say for sure, but I think they get close enough to death that they lose their soul entirely before the change finishes. I have never heard of one of them finding a fated mate. Nor do they have the capability of compassion and love. All vampires, no matter the breed, are territorial and possessive by nature. Remember that with what you all are doing. If you manage to convince Carter to fall for it, remember that what he feels is nothing more than a desire to control and possess. I saw it on Sunday, he is already struggling with the idea of sharing you both with others. He will not easily hand you over to Curtis. You will have to do something to draw Curtis’ attention. He is not like those he commands. The older a vampire gets, born or not, the smarter and stronger they become.”