A Mate for York (12 page)

One week later…

York
pulled up to the club. Although humans were not permitted in Aorta, a long,
thick queue of them wrapped half way around the block. Most of those trying to
get in were females. When Brant’s club had first opened a year or two ago,
humans had tried to get in all the time but after a few months of failing, the
attempts mostly dried up. It was only when word got out that one of the kings
was in attendance that things became a little chaotic. Thankfully that wasn’t
very often any more. Not since they had mated Tanya and not at all since the
royal heir had been born. York had to smile just thinking of the little tyke.
Those chubby little hands and cheeks were the cutest things ever. His favorite
was when little Sam was tired. Those big, gummy yawns made him feel all warm
inside.

A
group of females surged forward as they caught sight of his SUV, pulling him
out of his thoughts. Word was out about the breeding program and the
opportunities it afforded human females when it came to mating with vampire
males and
boom
…things were back to being an utter mess outside Aorta.

He was
glad that he didn’t have to control the chaos. Gideon would have his hands
full. The male could be seen talking and listening on an earpiece. There was a
whole bevy of guards outside the club and he knew there would be many more
inside.

This
was the first time the ten elite were meeting with the chosen human females.
York glanced at his watch, already knowing what he would see. He was late by
about a half an hour. Tough fucking luck. At least he was here. His mind
wandered to little Sam and his own drive to have a family. It was something he
felt on an instinctual level. The need to procreate.

Yet, after
dreaming of this moment for months, he felt completely deflated. There were
human females inside. Ones he was actually permitted to touch, yet the thought
left him cold.

You
haven’t even seen them yet.

Maybe
one of them would spark the same interest he had for Cassidy.
Don’t dwell on
recent events. Move forward.

Taking
in a deep breath, he pulled his SUV into one of the reserved parking spots.
Three guards approached the vehicle, holding a group of human females at bay.
The humans were of various ages from barely legal to ‘hello granny.’ Didn’t
they have anything better to do?

“About
damned time.” Gideon growled as he exited the vehicle.

For a
second, York thought to apologize but in the end he let it slide. “Have all the
best females been taken?” He’d hoped to sound light hearted but failed
dismally.

Gideon
smiled. “Glad to see that you are doing better. How’s the back?”

York
shrugged. “No big deal. It healed quickly enough.” He hadn’t seen the male
since that day in the boardroom.

Gideon
chuckled. “By the way you howled like a baby, I would’ve thought you’d be down
a lot longer.”

Clenching
his teeth, he didn’t answer for a few beats. The males had given him huge slack
for not remaining silent during his beating. Hearing Cassidy start her car,
hearing her leave. It had cut him deeper than any silver spike ever could. He
didn’t understand it. Lust could turn even the hardest male into a blithering
idiot but that wasn’t it. Maybe it was because it killed him that she thought
the worst of him. That she felt he was ruining her life. Cassidy thought that
he had used her to get back into the program. He wished he could go and see her
to explain…just one damn time but she was right, so far his meddling had caused
shit for her. For them both. He really was a sadist because he’d lifted her
file, had looked up her address even though he never planned on ever actually
using the information. Regardless of how much he wanted to.

Gideon
must have seen something written on his face because he tapped him on the
shoulder. “I’m only joking around. I know your whining had nothing to do with
receiving those lashes.”

York
scowled at the male. He didn’t particularly feel like discussing it with him. They
both moved to the front entrance of the club. The guards did a good job of
keeping the females away.

“I was
with the human when she left. It wasn’t lost on me how you didn’t make another
sound after she was gone.” Gideon shook his head. “The humans inside are
stunning, or so I have heard. You need to give it a chance. Maybe you will meet
the right one.”

“You
haven’t seen them yet?” York asked.

Gideon
shook his head. “It’s been hectic out here since early evening. Somehow
information about tonight must have leaked despite the heavy confidentiality clauses.
I have my hands full.” He shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like any of them are
here for me, so what’s the point?”

They
arrived at the large double doors of the club. “Why didn’t you try out for the
program?” York asked. “You could easily have made the top ten.”

Gideon
shrugged again, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “I’m not the settling down
type. I don’t particularly want a mate or children for that matter.” His eyes
darkened.

It
didn’t make sense to York. Most males he knew would give their right testicle
to be included. “I can’t say I understand but whatever makes you happy.”

Gideon
glanced at the growing crowd. “I need to get back to work.” He clenched his
teeth. “If this gets any worse I’m going to have to call for backup. The kings
insisted that this whole thing take place at Aorta. They felt the human females
would feel more comfortable in a relaxed setting. Fucking crazy if you ask me.”

York
nodded. “Especially with the recent attempt on Zane’s life.” His chopper had
been shot down by a group of fascist humans with a vendetta against the
vampires. Particularly the kings. The group was not thrilled at the prospect of
human women being taken as mates by vampire males. They had managed to capture
one of the members that had shot Zane but in a fit of rage, Brant had killed
the male before he could give up much information. It left them in the dark as
to how many of them there were? How organized and skilled they were? More
importantly, as to whom they were and what their futures plans were.

The
threat could be nothing and it could be very real. They were treating it as the
latter.

York
nodded. “Thanks for seeing Cassidy off the other day and for the advice.”

“For
the record, I know you didn’t use her like Brant thinks you did. You need to
know that it doesn’t help to go against the system. Our rules are in place for
a reason.” He sighed heavily. “We may not like them, but we have to obey them.”
Gideon smiled. “Now…go inside and find your future mate.”

York
nodded back. “I’ll see you later.”

“Sure
thing.” Gideon turned and walked away, he already had a phone to his ear within
two strides. All business.

York
turned back to the entrance. The guards at the door greeted him with big
smiles.

“You are
so fucking lucky.” One said as he walked past.

“They are
just as sweet as we have been told.” Another remarked.

He
ignored the male. Ignored them all as he walked inside.

An
upbeat song played. The club was not very big as it was specially designed for
vampire patrons only. The interior was distinctly modern and highly tasteful.
It was Brant’s club, and that meant that no expense had been spared. Marble,
crystal and silver were the main finishes. Light, clean and elegant with a
minimalistic flair. He’d always enjoyed coming here. He’d always picked up a
vampire female on the few times he’d been here during leisure time. Would he
get so lucky tonight? Did he even want to? Thing was, he really needed to move
on. Once and for all. One night with Cassidy was hardly a relationship. They
had both been clear that it was a one-time thing.

Fuck!

Why
was he even thinking about her again? She had probably already left town like
she said she wanted to. York was sure that she had moved on without another
thought. No more dwelling on what could never be.

There
were a lot of females in attendance. Delicious scents tantalized his senses. A
quick count brought the total number of females, he could see, to twenty-two.
Ten males and at least twenty-two females. Brant was obviously fucking useless at
math.

Griffin
had his arm around one of the females. She pressed her body against him and
whispered something in his ear. Some of the guys were talking with more than
one female. Lance had three females surrounding him. A pretty boy fucking
player regardless of whether the female was human or vampire. It seemed that
his whole brooding, intense thing worked on all females. It turned out, that
despite a foul temper, Lance didn’t have bloodlust. Only one of the males was
afflicted. A quiet, reserved male. Go fucking figure.

“About
damned time.” Lazarus appeared from nowhere. His friend wore a tank top
exposing thick, well muscled arms that would surely scare away the timid
humans.

“It
doesn’t look like I’ve missed much.” York folded his arms across his chest.

Lazarus
made a groaning noise. “Just heaven…they are so damned pretty.”

“So
why are you here talking to me instead of them?”

Lazarus
took on a pained expression. “I’m not much of a talker.” The male was right, he
grunted more than he spoke.

“I
tried to start up a conversation with that little blonde over there.” He
pointed to the bar. A woman in high heels and a seriously tight dress was
ordering a drink. “I introduced myself and then panicked.” Lazarus’ eyes
darkened and he sucked in a deep breath.

“What
did you do?”

He
looked down at his feet. “I told her she had fucking stunning mammary glands.”

York
had to laugh. “We were taught to go easy on the compliments. You should’ve
talked about her eyes or her hair.”

“Yeah
but look at her.” Lazarus growled as the female turned around and sure enough,
there was enough cleavage in her low cut dress to sink whole ships. Big cruise
liners for that matter. “I suck at this. You should’ve seen her face. I’m
surprised she didn’t slap me.”

York
chuckled. “Relax. We have plenty of such meet and greet sessions planned over
the next few weeks. There are more humans than males, I’m sure one of them will
be interested in a testosterone riddled, huge motherfucker like you.”

Lazarus
flexed his muscles. “Better fucking believe it,” he growled.

“About
that though.” York made for the bar and Lazarus stayed next to him. “You should
look for a shirt like mine.” York ran his hands down the dress shirt he was
wearing. “You could also use a pair of jeans.” He glanced at the other male’s
leather pants. York choked out a laugh. “And for fucks sakes lose the knives.”

Lazarus
had a blade strapped at his thigh and another on his belt. He knew that there
would be more concealed weapons on him. The other male scowled. “What if we are
attacked?” His jaw ticked. “I need to be ready to protect the humans. They are
weak and easily hurt.”

“They
are also easily scared as well.” York ordered a drink for himself. He decided
on a beer. It was a perfectly acceptable human drink. He noticed that many of
the males had one in their hands. “Do you want anything?”

“Blood…hold
the ice,” Lazarus growled.

York
raised a brow at the male.

“What?”
Lazarus put up his hands. “Okay fine”—he huffed—“blood and a double shot of
vodka.”

“You
can’t fucking drink blood in front of the humans.” York kept his voice low.
“Were you not paying any attention in the training sessions?”

“I’m a
fucking vampire.” Lazarus growled so loudly that he made one of the females to
the right of them shriek and grab her chest. “Sorry,” he growled while taking a
step towards her.

She
visibly paled. The female swallowed hard and nodded. “It’s f-fine.” She
stammered, her eyes wide in her head.

As
soon as Lazarus turned back towards him, the female slunk away glancing back in
their direction every so often. Human females were terrified of him. Then
again, full grown vampire males were terrified of Lazarus so he didn’t blame
them.

“I
understand that you are a vampire but you can tone it down while they are
getting to know you. This is new to them.”

“Fuck
that. I am who I am.” He answered, in true Lazarus style.

“Don’t
listen to me then. You can order your own fucking blood,” York said, keeping
his voice down. He noticed that there was a female sitting at the end of the
bar. She looked lost, her eyes kept moving around the room. It was like she was
searching for something…or someone. “Take those blades off and hand them in at
the bar. Let’s go and speak to that female over there.” He pointed her out to
Lazarus without making it obvious.

“Yeah,”
Lazarus growled. “She has stunning eyes. So very big…” He bobbed his eyebrows
up and down. “And her hair is fucking lush and curvy…I mean wavy.” He bobbed
his brows a second time. York had to laugh. He noted that the male removed the visible
knives, but he didn’t end up ordering anything to drink.

They
made their way over to the female. York held his beer, taking a sip every so
often. It tasted pretty shitty and the alcohol content was too low to even give
him a mild buzz. If it made the humans feel more comfortable though, then he
didn’t mind drinking it.

The
female seemed taken aback that they had approached her. She didn’t look
particularly happy by the way she pressed her lips together and she pulled her
purse more tightly against her midsection. Her heart rate picked up.

“Would
you mind if we joined you?” he asked. “You look a little lonely sitting all the
way over here on your own.”

“I’m
fine over here on my own…” Her eyes widened. “But I wouldn’t mind
talking
for a while.” She emphasized the word talking. Contrary to how quickly he and
Cassidy had ended up in bed together, human women tended to prefer a drawn out
courtship. He didn’t understand it. This must be one of those females.