Jarrett, AJ - Miles's Awakening [Warriors of the Light 1] (Siren Publishing Allure ManLove) (14 page)

“Leave me the fuck alone.”

“I can’t do that, Ben. You’re my oldest and dearest friend.” Quinn moved to stand in front of him. “What did your father have to say?”

Ben slowly closed his eyes, replaying the phone call over in his mind. His father’s callous words pained him. To think his own father couldn’t grant his only son a little sympathy for his loss. “He said I needed to complete the mission and capture Malcolm by any means necessary. I can’t let foolish things like love distract me from what’s important.”

A low whistle passed Quinn’s lips. “I always thought your father was a heartless bastard, and he keeps proving me right.” Quinn knelt before him. “Don’t listen to him. You need to have faith that we will find Miles.”

Ben snapped his head to the side as he glared at Quinn. “Keep the faith? You’re asking me to keep the faith?” He laughed harshly as he sat up farther in his chair. “My faith has given me nothing in return. All I have left is a lifetime of loneliness. That, my friend, is the only thing I have faith in because without Miles there is no reason to live.”

“I can’t believe you’re just going to sit in here and not even try to help find your mate. Sounds like to me you’ve already given up.”

“It has been nine days of nothing. No clues, no leads, nothing.” Ben ran his hands roughly through his hair. “Like in the human world, if there isn’t any word within the first forty-eight hours, chances of finding the missing person dwindle by the day.”

He heard Quinn let out a heavy sigh. “You’re a coward if you give up now, Ben, plain and simple.”

Ben inhaled sharply. Quinn’s words were like a blow to the chest. He wasn’t giving up. He was just being realistic. “Don’t you have a mate out there that needs to be claimed?” Ben tried to put the attention back on his friend in an attempt to push Quinn away.

“No, not really,” Quinn mumbled.

“Not really? I heard you call him your mate the other ni—” Ben’s words died in his throat. He hated talking about the dreadful night Miles had been taken. His mind wandered to that night quite frequently, and he didn’t need to keep discussing it.

“It’s tricky.” Quinn pulled a chair over and sat next to Ben. “I’m going to tell you something, and please don’t judge me.”

How could he judge Quinn? At least Quinn kept his mate safe. Granted he was a newly turned vampire, but Trevor was still in Quinn’s protective hands.

“Yes, Trevor is my mate, but he doesn’t know it.” Ben nodded. He knew that much. “I had one of the witches at the council cast a spell so if and when my mate finds me, he wouldn’t feel the pull. To them I would just be like any other person on the street they would meet.”

Ben couldn’t believe his ears. Who in their right mind would not want to find the other half of their soul? Yes, he’d lost his mate, but he wouldn’t give up a minute he spent with Miles for anything.

Ben cleared his throat. “Why would you do something like that?”

“Because I didn’t want to go through what you’re going through now.” Quinn leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees then rested his head in his palms. “I’m not strong like you. I would die if anything ever happened to my mate.”

“But you know Trevor is your mate. Did the spell not work on you?” Ben couldn’t wrap his mind around this absurdity.

“You know how magic works.” A painful grin touched Quinn’s lips. “With this spell, it only allowed it to go one way. I figured if my mate never made any advances or showed any interest in me, I could handle knowing who they were. But now I’m not so sure.”

Ben reached out a hand to pat Quinn on the shoulder. It must be hard for his friend having to deal with a mate that didn’t even know they were mates. To stand aside and watch the person you love date and possibly fall in love with someone else was a risky thing to put oneself through.

“Quinn, I understand why you did what you did, but don’t you see it doesn’t matter. As long as you feel the bond, you will be forever tied to Trevor. Do you really want to see him fall in love with someone else? And he’s a vampire now, so it would be many, many years of torture for you to suffer through, an eternity.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Quinn pushed to his feet and started to pace the floor. “I would rather let him live his life separate from me than have him with me and stand the possibility that our enemies would capture him and take him from me.” All the fight left Quinn. His shoulders slumped, and his head fell forward. “Or worse, kill him. He’s safer this way, Ben. Don’t you see that?”

Ben stood up and wrapped his arms around his friend. Quinn resisted at first but finally gave into the embrace. He began to silently cry. This must be wearing on Quinn quite a bit if he was showing emotion like this. In all the time Ben knew Quinn, he’d never seen him cry.

“My dear friend, don’t you see? Even with all that has happened I wouldn’t trade a minute of time I spent with Miles.”

Quinn pulled back to look Ben straight in the eyes. “Even to avoid this pain you feel now?”

“Even then I wouldn’t change a thing. Having felt Miles’s love is enough to last me a lifetime.” He spoke the truth. The love he had for Miles was timeless. If all he was left with were his memories, so be it. At least he knew true love even for a brief moment in time.

Quinn opened his mouth to speak, when Lachlan came barreling through the door.

“We got a lead.”

The air in Ben’s chest froze in his lungs. Could it be the heavens had smiled down on him to give him one more chance?

“Just don’t stand there. What is it?” Quinn asked.

Ben was grateful for his friend in that moment. He couldn’t speak. The thought of being reunited with Miles left him speechless.

“You’re not going to believe this, but the Missouri Ozarks. A town called Branson.”

“Huh?” Quinn and Ben said in unison.

“It’s in the southern part of Missouri, big tourist attraction. Lots of innocent blood donors walking around if you catch my drift.” Lachlan laughed without humor.

Ben had a feeling Malcolm had upped and moved to a different location, but he was ecstatic to hear he was still in the same state. Malcolm hadn’t moved across the country or worse to another continent. But how could Lachlan be certain?

“Lachlan, what’s this lead you have?” Ben asked. He nervously chewed on the inside of his cheek as he waited for the man’s response. It wouldn’t be wise to get his hopes up for a false lead.

“A friend of mine from the wolf pack that bordered our pride from when I was kid lives in Branson. He caught sight of Malcolm’s right-hand man, Lucian.”

“Is he sure, Lachlan?” Quinn asked. He darted his eyes to Ben every few seconds.

“Oh yeah, he’s sure. The sick bastard tried to pick up on his little brother.” Lachlan shook his head in disgust. “The kid is barely seventeen years old.”

“But is he certain?” Ben shouted.

“Yes, Ben. When my buddy, Aaron, got into it with the jerk, he flaunted around how Malcolm would come after his pack for showing such lack of respect to such superior beings.” Lachlan laughed harshly. “No offense guys, but superior my ass.”

“None taken.” Quinn looked over at Ben waiting for him to give the order.

“I guess we’re going to the Ozarks.” A smiled crossed Ben’s lips. “And once I find my mate, I’m going to kill that prick for taking what didn’t belong to him.”

“Now that’s the Ben I know.” Quinn clapped him on the shoulder. Quinn looked back to Lachlan. “You heard the man. Round up the troops. We have a mission to go on.”

Lachlan gave them a salute and rushed out of the room. All the warriors knew how important it was to Ben to find Miles. Not just for Ben but for them all. In the short time they’d spent with his mate, they all had developed a friendship with him. It was easy to like Miles. He had an openness that invited others in.

Ben headed for the door then turned to look over his shoulder at Quinn. Tears clouded his vision as he grinned at his old friend. “Thanks for the pep talk.”

“No thanks needed. You would have done the same for me.”

Ben nodded then rushed out of the room and down the stairs. Quinn followed close behind. They needed to get everything together so they could get to Miles before Malcolm decided to move again.

“And where do you two think you’re going in such a rush?”

Ben and Quinn both skidded to a stop at the sight of Trevor standing before them with his hands on his hips. An upset Trevor frightened Ben just a tad bit. The man was like a ticking time bomb that no one knew when he would explode.

Ever since Miles had been abducted, Trevor’s mood swings had been a force to be reckoned with. His emotions were all over the charts. Having just become a vampire didn’t help matters either. With all new vamps, their emotions ran a little higher. They could be unpredictable, and that was exactly how Trevor had been lately.
He would fly off the handle at the drop of a hat at the slightest thing. Ben couldn’t fault him that since he had been acting the same way.

“We got a lead on Miles?”

Ben’s brow wrinkled in confusion when he looked at Quinn. He answered in the form of a question rather than making a statement. Ben found that odd.

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Trevor snapped as he moved toward them.

Ben didn’t have time for this. “He’s telling you. So if you excuse us, we need to be going.”

Ben was brought up short when Trevor shoved him up against the nearby wall. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

Quinn gasped and both Ben and Trevor looked at him with wide eyes.

“Fuck that. You’re not going, Trev. Your sweet little ass is staying right here where it’s safe.” Quinn proceeded to walk down the hallway.

Trevor’s hold on him went lax, and he was able to detangle the fist in his shirt. He followed behind Trevor who in return followed Quinn.

“Excuse me, you’re not my boss. That is my family that sick freak has. And let’s not forget the last time you guys left us here.” Trevor stopped walking, abruptly sending Ben tripping over his feet not to trample the smaller man. “I’m going to regret saying this later, but I’m not safe unless I’m with you.”

Quinn stumbled to a stop. He slowly turned on his heel to look at his mate. “You really think that?”

Ben wanted to get a move on it, but he was curious about the man’s answer. After all Quinn had said about having a witch cast a spell so his mate wouldn’t feel the bond, he had to wonder if fate was stronger than magic.

“Yes I do.” Trevor looked offended that Quinn even asked. “Granted, since I met you people my life has turned upside down, but, Quinn, you’ve been teaching me how to fight, and how to be a vampire. And after spending so much time with you, I know you’re a man of honor. So I know when I say I need to help save my cousin, you will understand.”

Trevor shrugged his shoulders. “What wouldn’t you do for someone you love?”

Ben watched as his friend stood there stunned. What poor Trevor didn’t know was that Quinn didn’t want him to go because of the love he had for his young mate, but Quinn couldn’t tell him that. It would give his secret away.

“Please, Trevor, you don’t have to do this. You’re still training, and you’re not ready for this type of battle.”

This discussion was all for nothing. Ben didn’t have time for this, and in the end, knowing Trevor the way he did, there was no way they could leave without the man.

“Trevor, you can go.” Trevor clapped his hands together in excitement as Quinn starred daggers at him. “On the condition you stay with Quinn at all times. If anything happens to you, Miles would never forgive me.” Neither would Quinn.

“I will, I swear it.”