Vampire Mate: BBW Paranormal Romance (6 page)

Jett was nudging and
whispering jokes to Ella Wong, the PAC Secretary and werepanther,
trying to distract her from her job of recording the minutes of the
meeting. Ella rolled her eyes and growled at Jett, leaving Jett to
chortle at his own jokes.

But Glenn knew that Jett's
joking manner was just a front. The human was tougher, cleverer and
even more scarred inside than a lot of paranormals. When it came to
training and leading his Enforcers, Jett didn't joke around at all.
He was firm, demanding, and brutal—according to the rookie
Enforcers. He had heard some of the female Enforcers whispering
among themselves: “Jett has two steel rods, one in front, and
one up his a—”

Keagan Slater, the weredragon
was sitting beside the PAC's honorary member, Helen Satchi, a
weretiger and the previous Alpha of the PAC. Lucas had granted her
the title of Emeritus Alpha, and allowed her a seat on the Council,
but she had no voting rights. Helen was more than a little abrasive
and resentful towards Lucas, but Lucas was a strong, secure alpha
wolf and Glenn respected him for his strength and good humor. Though
he had to admit that it was only after Lucas's mating with Charlotte
Cole that his humor had vastly improved.

How would Charlotte and Lucas
react if they knew about Charlene and what she had become?

Glenn shifted in his seat and
Lucas's sharp eyes slid to him. Lucas waited until Samantha and
Grayson were done, then spoke up, his eyes still pinned on Glenn, “It
seems we have a civilian daredevil vampire who is playing superhero
to damsels in distress now. Know anything about that?”

At this, Jett stopped teasing
Ella and jolted upright in his seat.

“
We've had a few
bewildered females come running to the PAC these last few nights,
giving conflicting accounts of a “supervamp”. A werefox
reported being saved from a mugger by...” Jett glanced down at
his notes, and reported the facts briskly and succinctly to the
Council. “I quote: 'a strange, super strong woman with crazy
scary fangs'. And we've just received a call from a witch, claiming
to have been rescued from a rogue werewolf by a female vampire. The
witch insisted that we arrest the werewolf, not the female vamp. She
said we should find the vamp and give her a medal.” Jett
flipped through his notes, his expression becoming grim. “A
human woman was rushed to the hospital by her neighbors who heard
screams and horrible noises coming from her kitchen. The woman had
been battered half to death. But she managed to give her statement
to the human police and our Enforcers. She said her husband was on a
rampage again, beating her up in her kitchen, when this woman
appeared out of nowhere and stopped her abusive husband by biting him
in the neck. Then she disappeared with him.”

Jett looked up and said, “I've
briefed my Enforcers to be on the lookout for a vigilante female
vampire, but because of the conflicting witnesses' accounts, there's
no proper description. All we know is that she's female, dresses
like a vamp and drinks those thugs like a vamp. We have to warn her
to stop doing that. Vigilantism is one thing. Going rogue is...”
He blew out a breath.

“
For now, it sounds like
we have a young vampire vigilante, who has decided to run around New
Moon City and chase rogues on her own in her free time,” Lucas
said and turned to Glenn. “Glenn, you are one of the Master
vampires in the city. Is she—one of yours? Do you have any
idea who this vampire might be?”

Glenn took a breath. He knew
that they were talking about Charlene. What could he say? “No,
she is not mine,” he answered quietly.
Yet.

“
Can you find her?”
Jett asked, leaning forward. “I can send a team of Enforcers
to assist you...”

“
No!” Glenn's
voice was louder and harsher than he intended.

The voices around the table
fell silent and everyone turned to Glenn.

“
I mean, I think I'll be
able to find her on my own,” Glenn said quickly. “No
need to pull your Enforcers off their patrol.”

Jett shrugged. “When
you find this ballsy vigilante, ask her to sign up for our Enforcer's
training program,” Jett called out, keeping his eyes on Glenn.
“This gal sounds like someone we could use. I think I love her
already.”

Glenn's dark eyes blazed and
his fangs stabbed out at Jett's last sentence.

Love her? Love
his
mate?

Glenn forced his fangs to
retract.
His
mate?

Could she be...?

Glenn blinked, the image of
her beautiful face searing into his mind. Was Charlene really his?
The attraction and the pull was the first indication. But there was
really only one true way to find out.

He would have to take her to
his bed, and take her blood.

Take a blood demoness to his
bed?

For the first time and to his
own amazement, the thought didn't repulse him.

Glenn shook himself, and was
suddenly aware that every Council member was staring at him. A few
were frowning, others gave him curious, knowing smiles, and yet
others were chuckling softly.

Lucas broke the silence by
leaning forward to say, “You know her, don't you, Glenn? You
know who she is.”

Glenn kept his face straight,
refusing to release Charlene's name to the PAC. Not yet.

“
I may have an inkling.
But I have to make sure. I promise I will find her,” he said
at last.

“
Do it.” Lucas
nodded, and moved the discussion onto the next item on the agenda. A
thrill-seeking, rogue-kicking female vigilante wasn't much of a
threat to the city, and the PAC wasn't overly concerned. They just
wanted to find her, and bring her in, possibly into the PAC's
Enforcement Unit.

But Glenn knew that Charlene
was skating on thin ice. Paper thin ice that already had cracks
snaking across the surface.

Time was running out for her.

Made demons were not like
natural demons or born demons. Made demons were tethered to their
Maker, and usually only an ancient demon lord could Make demons.

And the fact that she had been
let loose upon the city as a new blood demoness and made to hunt for
blood showed what kind of demon lord she served. One that was
self-serving, sadistic and savage.

He had to find her, fast.

And after he found her, that
was when the real fight would begin.

He would have to fight, with
her, perhaps against her. But he would fight for her.

He had lost her once, and he
would not lose her again.

Glenn misted into his office.
It was late afternoon, and Philomi had made sure that all the
shutters were firmly drawn, so that not a sliver of sunlight breached
his office. As a rather old, rather powerful Master vampire, he
could tolerate some sunlight, but it wasn't exactly comfortable.
Philomi was thoughtful, and maternal towards him. Glenn smiled
wryly. He was close to nine hundred years old, but Philomi merely
saw him as a young man in his early thirties.

Glenn scrolled through his
emails, and saw one from an unknown sender. He was about to pick up
the phone when there was a knock on the door and Philomi waltzed in
with a stack of paperwork in her arms.

“
How do you always know
when I've come in when I don't use the door?” he asked his
secretary as she deposited the documents on his desk.

“
How long have I worked
for you?” she answered his question with her own rhetorical
question.

“
About twenty-five
years.”

“
Quarter of a century,
and still I'm here, working at the same company, for the same boss,
who asks the same question every time I knock on his door and come in
exactly thirty seconds after he mists into his office,” Philomi
finished with a hand on her hip.

Glenn scrubbed his chin. “I
must be getting old.”

“
Hmmph,” Philomi
said by way of reply.

“
All right, what have
you got for me today?” Glenn rubbed his hands as if in glee,
as he leaned over the mountainous paperwork.

“
The usual. Checks and
minutes to sign, draft agreements, some letters. And, you have a
dinner invitation. Here, this just came in today.”

As he took the opened envelope
and pulled out an embossed card, his secretary went on in her usual
efficient manner, “The invitation is from Mr Sideous Kron.
He's inviting you to dinner at his home this evening at eight o'clock
sharp.”

Glenn turned the invitation
card over. The address was clearly printed on the card, but he
already knew where Sideous Kron lived.

Glenn frowned at the
invitation card that was embossed with cryptic symbols all over.
Dinner? With the demon lord? What was that old demon really up to?

Philomi stood at his side and
was squinting at his computer screen.

“
Oh, that.” She
pointed at the email he was about to delete. “The invitation
came by email as well. The sender was unknown, the email address was
hidden. But it said the same thing. That Mr Sideous Kron requests
the pleasure of your company tonight at his place.”

Glenn flipped the invitation
card between his fingers. “Mr Kron has listed his home
telephone number here. Call and let him know that I am happy to
accept his invitation to dinner.”

Philomi nodded, took the card
from him, and closed the door to his office softly behind her.

Glenn leaned back in his
chair. Harvey had called him last night to report on his uneventful
reconnaissance of Sideous Kron's residence. “All seems quiet
on the demon front,” was what Harvey had said. “But I
really can't see much from where I am. Dragons don't have X-ray
vision.”

Sideous Kron had been careful
to stay out of the spotlight and had chosen to remain in the shadows
of New Moon City thus far, but Glenn sensed that things were about to
change. Things were about to get real.

Kron had stayed in the shadows
to hide his true nature and motivations from the city and the PAC.

Tonight, Glenn would have a
glimpse of what the demon truly wanted and needed.

On the surface, he would be
having a civil, cordial dinner with a potential business partner.
But beneath the surface, tensions were simmering and intentions were
festering.

Glenn knew that he wouldn't be
walking into a cozy, welcoming home. He would be walking into a
fight.

His fighting days were well
behind him. But Glenn was never one to hide or run from a fight.

A fight.

Glenn drummed his long fingers
on the table, and frowned at the stacks of documents in front of him.
Well, he had work to do, and he was more than ready to take on an
old demon lord.

It was past six o'clock when
Glenn looked up from his completed paperwork. Glenn stood up and
grabbed his jacket. Exiting his office, he smiled at Philomi who
looked up promptly from her typing.

“
Don't work too late,”
he told her. “I'm going off now. I have to get ready for
dinner with Mr Sideous Kron.”

Her black eyes narrowed
slightly as she asked, “What time will you be in tomorrow, Mr
Constantine?”

Glenn knew that what she was
really saying was: I will call the PAC for help if you're not here by
a certain time, so—what is that certain time?

“
I'll be in tomorrow
morning, by nine o'clock, latest. ”

“
I'll make sure the
shutters are down in your office,” she replied crisply.

“
Thanks. Now, I need to
go home and freshen up. Got to impress a potential purchaser of our
land,” Glenn said with a grimace.

Glenn misted straight to his
penthouse in the Tine Towers, which he owned, and proceeded to get
his penguin suit out of the closet. White shirt, black suit, black
bow tie, the works. He showered and shrugged on his jacket. This
would be a very formal dinner. Formal, and hopefully civilized.

Then he grabbed his keys to
his Lamborghini and pulled his deep red sports car out of the parking
lot.

He knew he could mist directly
to Sideous Kron's residence—that would sure save driving time,
road rage and traffic stress. But there was a certain protocol and
decorum when it came to dealing with paranormals, and humans, for
that matter. There were appearances to be kept up, manners to be
observed, laws to be obeyed. Popping up as a column of mist right in
the middle of someone else's living room would be trespassing, or
breaking and entering—even if nothing had been broken. And
with someone like Sideous Kron, it was best not to reveal one's true
prowess.

Glenn's red Lamborghini
Roadster weaved through the city traffic and turned out into the long
highway leading out of the city. He cruised towards Infernal
Springs, that remote, affluent enclave of majestic mansions miles out
of the city. The inhabitants of these looming, sprawling mansions
were a mix of humans and paranormals. One of the vampires he had
turned over two centuries ago, Caleb Thorn, lived there. Glenn
briefly wondered if he should pay Caleb a visit, then decided against
it. From what he had heard, Caleb was a party boy, and the chances
that he would catch him at home were slim. Or perhaps the lover boy
would be at home, in bed with a couple of warm, writhing female
bodies.