Watching Out For Fangs (The Cloverleah Pack Book 7) (21 page)

Chapter Twenty Nine

Vadim eased out of Josh’s arms, putting a pillow in his place, before climbing out of bed. It was still early and from what Vadim could hear, or rather didn’t hear, it seemed the rest of the household was still asleep. Perfect. He hurried to the bathroom and took care of his most pressing need, and then back into the bedroom to grab his phone from his pants pocket. He grinned as he looked at the scattered clothing on the floor. His mate was as competitive in video games as he was with everything else and the evening had ended with the most amazing blow job duel.

Looking down at Josh, still fast asleep, those luscious lips slightly open to allow soft snores, Vadim took a moment to appreciate the wonder Josh had brought into his life. It was more than love. Friendship, laughter, playing games – it was truly amazing how you could miss the simple things in life when you didn’t have a heart. Everything Josh shared with him was priceless beyond measure.

Which was why he had an important call to make. His mother. Vadim had an idea of what was causing a breakdown in his and Josh’s mind link, but he wanted it confirmed before he did anything. If anyone could help, it was the only vampire he knew of, older than he was. Vadim slipped out of the room, down through the house and out onto the porch. It wasn’t that the conversation was private per se, but Vadim didn’t want any of the pack knowing that he and Josh were having problems.

“Good morning mother, I trust you slept well.” Vadim easily reverted to the formal tones he always used in the coven. His mother had never done anything to earn any form of disrespect.

“I did, thank you Vadim,” his mother replied softly. “Although it concerns me that you are phoning me this early, when you are newly mated. Please tell me the honeymoon isn’t over yet.”

“It’s far from over. Josh and I are very much in love, and although we will both be facing the Atlanta pack tomorrow with the others, we are both fine.”

“You mentioned love, my son. You have no idea how pleased I am for both of you.”

“I do love him and no one is more surprised than I. Josh, he sees me for who I am, the man, rather than anything else, and face it, he’s really easy to love.”

“So what’s the problem?” Damn the woman for her intuition, but of course, Vadim had rung because he needed help.

“Our mind link,” he said slowly. “We had one, and then we came back here, and I thought he was blocking me, but it turns out he wasn’t. We’ve lost it and I can’t help but wonder…”

“You’ve told him you loved him?”

“Yes, and haven’t hidden it from anyone else. Everett was here, would you believe it, making a song and dance about getting me back, and I told him and everyone else in the room with us. I
do
love him, mother.”

“It’s all right, I know you do,” Eloise said softly. “But you know there are only two possible things that can block a vampire’s mind link.”

“Two?” Vadim had only heard of one.

“Yes, two. Either you still haven’t let go of Edward, or someone is using magic on you to create that block.”

“I have let go of Edward. I hate him when I think of the differences between the way he used to treat me like an idiot, and the loving way that Josh cares for me.” Vadim had thought his bond with Edward might have been the cause, although he hadn’t been able to work out why.

“Hate is still a connection,” Eloise reminded him. “Your mind link was a gift from the Fates, and a surprising one given your wolf is a beta and you are different species. Is it possible that someone has cast a spell on you, trying to break your connection to your mate, or at least giving you a connection to another that might cause a block to your mind link?”

“Everett,” Vadim growled.

Eloise laughed. “Everett is human, my son. You drank from him often enough to know that. He doesn’t have magic.”

“But he has contacts with someone that does.” Quickly Vadim filled his mother in on what had been happening in Cloverleah, how Everett was involved and the possibility that there was a dark magic user working with the Atlanta pack.

“Well that changes things considerably,” Eloise said when Vadim finished. “I’m not a hundred percent certain that your bond with Edward is finished and I would recommend you go through the absolution ritual as soon as you are able. But I would also question Everett again to make sure he hasn’t got his hand in this as well. I told Everett you were bonded from the moment you gave him into my care, so he would have had time to put something in place as well.”

“It can’t break our mating can it, this issue with Edward or any dark magic that Everett might be involved with?” Vadim waited with his heart in his mouth for this mother to answer.

“Nothing can break your mating, Vadim,” Eloise said firmly. “A mating is favored by the Fates. Once claimed, no one, man, woman, magic or otherwise, can break your bond until death, and not even then. But something is interfering with it, and it may be Edward, Everett or a combination of both.”

“Thank the Fates,” Vadim said, letting out his breath. “I appreciate the information. I can handle things from here. I look forward to your visiting once these issues are taken care of.”

“I’ll be waiting for your call. Take care my son.”

Vadim clicked off his phone and slipped it in his pocket before sprinting towards the enforcer house. Everett or Edward. Everett and Edward. Vadim wasn’t sure what was going on but by all that was holy he planned on getting his mind link back with his mate today, and heaven help anyone who tried to stop him.

“Where did you put Everett and his mate?” He yelled at Adair, who was standing in the kitchen nursing a large mug of coffee.  The big man was wearing nothing but a pair of tight boy shorts, and the incongruity of the sight gave Vadim a slight pause, but only for a second.

“He’s in the same cell. I moved the wolf and gave them a double mattress,” Adair said, apparently unruffled by Vadim’s tone or appearance.

“I don’t give a shit about his sleeping arrangements,” Vadim snarled as he moved again, this time in the direction of the stairs. Within seconds he was in front of the cell door. Fuck. They were impenetrable. Vadim cursed and kicked it, not that it did any good.

“You need this,” Adair said, reaching past him and placing his palm on an electronic pad. With his other hand he took out a key and unlocked the deadbolt on the door. Nodding his thanks, Vadim swept into the cell, every inch a vampire from a horror movie.

“Everett you little shit,” he snarled around his fangs. “What have you tried to do to my mating bond?”

“Er…me? Er…nothing.” Vadim could tell Everett was lying, the boy had never been good at it. But loud snarls distracted him for a moment. Everett had apparently been giving his mate some oral attention, and the big man was not happy with the interruption. Within seconds fur replaced skin and a decent sized wolf leapt at Vadim, teeth bared and lips pulled back.

“Henry, no! Don’t hurt Vadim,” Everett yelled but his mate ignored him. Vadim was angry enough not to care, and he let lose his claws, willed in his own power and struck. If he had to kill Everett’s mate to get his answers, then by the fates he would.

Fur flew, and Vadim felt teeth rip through his skin more than once. But he refused to feel any pain. Everett held one of the two keys that would allow Vadim to share everything with his mate, and one mangy wolf wasn’t going to stop him. Dimly he heard yells in the background, Kane, Adair and Josh, but he kept on fighting.

/~/~/~/~/

The scene Josh had run into was like a slasher movie. There was blood everywhere. Everett was huddled in the corner of the cell, his arms around his knees trying to push himself into the wall. In the middle of the small room, Vadim was fighting a wolf.  A wolf that was two swipes short of dead.

“Shawn, stop them please,” Josh whispered to the Alpha Mate who had come and pulled him from his bed and zapped them to the cell following a call from Adair. He wasn’t afraid of Vadim even when the man was in the middle of a rage, but he refused to allow his mate to kill Everett’s mate, especially without knowing what the hell was going on.

“My powers won’t work on vampires directly,” Shawn said grimacing as he raised his hands. Immediately a blue haze surrounded the wolf and Vadim let out a yell, letting go of his hold around the wolf’s throat. He fell on the ground, and looked up at Shawn.

“What the hell was that?”

“That was my mate, stopping you from killing Everett’s mate without good reason,” Kane growled stepping forward and holding out his hand to help Vadim off the floor.  Josh pushed past Shawn and hurried to his mate’s side, throwing his arms around Vadim’s chest, ignoring the stench of blood and the sight of torn flesh and clothing.

“What happened?” He said, forcing Vadim’s attention on him.

“Fucking Everett is messing around with our mating bond,” Vadim said. His arms seemed to hold onto Josh automatically but the vampire was still glaring at Everett who was still huddled in the corner.

“How can he…”

“I wouldn’t…”

“What the fuck…”

“Is that even possible…”

“You’re having problems…”

Five voices all shouted at once, until Kane simply yelled, “Shut up and let me think a minute.”

Josh hung onto Vadim, who still had his fangs and claws out, although Josh noticed that Vadim took pains not to hurt him.

“Are you all right?” He whispered against Vadim’s ear. Vadim glared at Kane and Shawn who were using their mind link.

“I will be when we have back, what they have.”

Okay. So this was about the mind link. Didn’t he hear Vadim say something about Everett interfering with it? Josh didn’t think it was possible for anyone to come between fated mates. Maybe it was different for vampires. It was his turn to glare at Everett, who was alternating between looking at Vadim and throwing worried look at the wolf in the blue haze.

“Okay,” Kane said at last. “I really need coffee. Adair get your brothers to bring Everett to the enforcer living room. Shawn will check on Henry here, and then you can bring him up as well. Vadim you and I need to have a serious talk about going off halfcocked before I’ve had a chance to have any caffeine, so you and Josh come with me.”

“Now. Everett’s not going anywhere,” he added when it looked like Vadim wasn’t about to move from the cell.

Josh pulled Vadim’s arm, holding him tight as they followed Kane back up the stairs, moving aside at one point to let Marius and Teilo go down them.

“I’ll get your coffee, Kane,” Josh said, as he sat Vadim down on the nearest couch and headed for the breakfast bar. Fortunately someone had already made a huge pot of coffee, so all Josh had to do was serve it up. He pulled out three big mugs from the cupboard above the sink and got to work. He’d been with the pack long enough to know how Kane and Shawn had their hot drinks, and he knew that Vadim wasn’t a fan at all. He snagged a cold drink out of the fridge on his way past and took all of the drinks into the living room.

“Okay Vadim,” Kane said when Josh had sat down beside his mate. “What’s got you in a lather this morning? Is this a regular vampire thing I need to be aware of? It’s not even full moon yet.”

“Nothing to do with the moon,” Vadim said. “Josh and I…” Vadim broke off and looked down at his hands.

“I am presuming this has something to do with our missing mind link?” Josh guessed when Vadim wouldn’t say anything.

“You have a mind link?” Kane said and he had every reason to look surprised.

“Yeah, I was shocked as hell about it too, but after we’d both claimed each other, we were blessed with one,” Josh said.

“Hmmm, might have something to do with a double claiming,” Kane mused. “But no matter, that still doesn’t explain why Vadim decided to take out a wolf and human all by himself before breakfast.”

“We haven’t had our mind link since we came back from Atlanta. I thought Vadim was blocking me, he thought I was blocking him, and when he realized that I wasn’t…well, yeah, he said it had to have something to do with him.” Josh said, suddenly feeling sad about it for some reason. It didn’t help that Kane had a look of pity on his face either. Unable to hold his Alpha’s stare, Josh tilted his head and fixed his eyes on Vadim.

“Did you talk to your mother?”

Vadim nodded. “She said that it was either because I still hadn’t let go of Edward, in which case I could do an absolution ritual, or it could be that someone had put a spell on me, with a view to trying to break our bond.”

“That’s not even possible,” Shawn said coming into the room with Everett and the wolf, now in human form and dressed in sweat pants, being firmly escorted by the Reef brothers. Shawn made himself comfortable on Kane’s lap and accepted the cup of coffee held out for him, taking a long sip.

“Breaking a mating isn’t possible, not even for a Shifter Guardian, and if I can’t do it, no one can. We can talk about this business with Edward afterwards, but firstly explain why you were attacking Henry,” Shawn said once he’d taken a drink.

“He was protecting his mate,” Vadim said. “I needed to talk to Everett, and yes I was angry. But when I asked Everett about putting a spell on me, he lied and said no.”

“You can’t smell if I was lying or not,” Everett yelled across the room.

“Your face goes red and you get a tick under your left eye when you lie,” Vadim snapped back. “Ask your mate, he would have been able to smell it, and if he lies to us, then my mate will smell that.”