Twenty-Four
Jameson wasn’t going to let anything happen to Nina. He kept his hand on her lower back the short walk over to his cabin. And when they sat on the couch, he pressed his thigh gently against hers.
Rex and Gemma followed them in.
“Explain what’s going on,” Jameson said, putting his alpha voice on and looking at Nina.
“The vampire ranks have swelled since I left,” Nina said. “I just found out that a new court has come in from Europe. They’re mad, they won’t honor the treaty we had with the original court, and they want to start picking off the pride one by one. Because of a couple of dickheads in the Corona Pride, gossiping about me at a fucking bar, the new vampires figured out I left the territory, and now they’re after me.”
“Okay. We can work with this.” He ran a hand through his hair, and watched Nina smirk. “It’s sticking straight up now, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes, it is. I love it.”
“Oh barf,” Gemma said, but she was smiling.
Jameson reached for Nina’s hand. “So the vampires are coming. This is going to be really dangerous. Can you tell us how to fight them?”
“They’re wicked fast,” Nina told him. “You don’t even see the vampire itself, just the shadows of movement.”
“Is that because it’s dark, or because they literally turn into shadow?”
“I think it’s because I’ve always seen them in dim lighting. Moonlight, or faint candlelight.” She told Jameson, Rex, and Gemma about the couple of times she’d encountered vampires, and how they’d learned how to fight them. “They do bleed,” she said. “They won’t come out in sunlight. We’ve killed them with fire, and by ripping their throats out. We haven’t tried stakes, since it’s kind of hard to hold one when we’re in animal form.”
Jameson nodded. “We have a lot of preparation to do.”
“You need to leave for the university soon, don’t you?” Rex asked.
Jameson had already thought about this. “No lecture today, just office hours. There aren’t any midterms or papers due this week, so I’ll call in sick.”
Nina squeezed his hand. He felt the heat and the love of her just in that one touch.
*
After lunch, Jameson called the clan together at the Circle. Without Asshole Jake, they were only eight, counting Nina. Not great numbers, especially since Gemma wouldn’t be fighting.
He stood next to the cairn. It reached his shoulder in height, and sometimes felt like a podium.
“All of you are in grave danger, there’s no denying that,” Jameson said. He looked around at his clan. They looked smaller, somehow, dwarfed by the massive trees. “We’re fighters, but this isn’t our fight. At the same time, Nina belongs with us now. She is mine, and I am hers.”
Erena glared, and Carl made a dismissive snorting sound. Not even Nolan looked pleased, but Jameson wasn’t here to win a popularity contest. This wasn’t a fight for prom king, it was a fight for their lives. It didn’t matter whether everyone agreed or approved—this was here, and it was real, and they would protect each other.
“Nina will show us some of the tactics her pride developed when fighting the bloodsuckers. We’ll practice for the rest of the afternoon if we have to, for anyone who wants to.”
“Gemma, you’re going to be inside,” Rex said.
“I…yeah, I know where my strengths lie,” Gemma said. “I’m a lover, not a fighter. I’ll be inside.”
“Thank you,” he said.
Jameson continued, “However, I realize that this isn’t anything you signed up for when you joined the clan. We couldn’t have foreseen a fight against vampires. Anyone who wants out now—you’re welcome to go.”
Erena didn’t hesitate. She grabbed Margot by the hand. “We’re going.”
Margot yanked her hand back. “I’m not leaving. This is my home.”
“Margot, what are you doing?” Erena hissed. “This place isn’t our home, it’s—”
“It’s my home, sister. Maybe not yours. But it’s mine.”
Erena stood still, hands on hips, and then slowly shook her head. “Fine. I’ll go without you.”
Carl kicked a pine cone into the tree line. “I’m out.”
“You’ll be missed,” Jameson said, but he didn’t sincerely mean it, and probably the lie came through in his voice. Oh well. He needed to focus on the trouble coming, not on the disloyal clan members he’d lose in the meantime. It was time for the Rock Creek Clan to come together as one unit, one community. Banishing Jake had been the first step. Letting Carl and Erena leave was the logical next step.
He hoped everyone left survived to enjoy the new clan. There was a bright future ahead of them, he could feel it, as long as they could get through the darkness.
Erena and Carl walked back to the cabins, presumably to pack. Neither of them would bother saying goodbye—it wasn’t their way.
Nina shared fighting strategies with Nolan and Margot. After a few minutes, Gemma interrupted them. “You say they hide in the shadows, as shadows, right?”
“Yeah,” Nina said.
“What if there aren’t any shadows?”
Jameson nodded. “I like where this is going.”
“We have time,” Gemma said. “We’ll flood the place with light. All over the cabins, bulbs everywhere.”
“Even if they knock out a few,” Nina said, her voice eager, “they wouldn’t be able to get all of them.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Jameson said. “Nolan, I want you to head to the home improvement store and buy all the outdoor lighting you can find. We should rest up before the night,” Jameson said to the rest of the clan. Their much-smaller clan. He could have really used the help of those who had left, but he had to believe that they would be stronger, even with smaller numbers, when the people remaining were committed to their clan. “We’ve prepared as much as we can until Nolan gets back with the lights. Get some sleep.”
Jameson made his way toward Nina, but Nolan stepped in his way.
“I told you everything was going to change,” Nolan said.
“And it has.”
“Right,” Nolan said. His gray eyes, usually pale, looked dark and intense. “But for the better?”
“Yes.” Truth rang through the word.
Nolan lowered his gaze. “You really believe that.”
“I do.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” Nolan ambled back toward the cabins, and a few minutes later, Jameson heard Nolan’s Bronco roar to life.
Grabbing Nina’s hand, Jameson walked with her to his cabin. Wordlessly, he led her to the bedroom where he removed her clothing, one article at a time, until she was naked in front of him. He helped her into bed, then curled around her. She nestled her head against his shoulder—such a common, easy gesture that he never thought he’d experience again.
She took a deep, shuddering breath.
“We’re going to get through this,” Jameson said, but even he could hear the doubt in his voice.
Tears leaked from her eyes onto his chest.
“Nina?” he said, rubbing her back.
“I’m scared,” she whispered. “I just found you. I don’t want to lose you.”
“I won’t let that happen,” Jameson said.
With worshipful hands, he pushed her gently onto her back and caressed her hair, her face. He kissed her lips, tasting her sweet mouth and her desperation.
And when her legs widened beneath him, he slid in easily. Each stroke brought them closer together, and closer to the battle they’d soon wage with the vampires. He never wanted their time together to end.
After they were both sated, and still breathing hard, Jameson eased out of her.
“I love you,” he said, falling down to lie beside her. “I love you. Mine.”