Blood Trinity (2 page)
Haig unlocked the door to his room and flopped onto the bed. Maybe a trip back to Ireland was what he needed? He shook his head, dismissing the notion as quickly as it had come. There was nothing in Ireland without Kern.
Closing his eyes, Haig wondered if Kern was settling into newly mated bliss with
Audric
. It had been almost a week since Kern had tried calling. There was no doubt Kern probably had his hands full trying to keep up with the much younger vampire. Although Haig had never been around the species of Blessed Creatures, he had heard tales of
Neo’s
sexual exploits. Whether all vampires had the sex-drive Neo had was unknown to him.
Although Haig and Kern had always enjoyed a healthy sex life, it had begun to wane in the previous one hundred years or so. He hadn’t really thought about it until he’d started to worry about
Audric
being brought into their bed. How could Haig possibly compete with a man so different from himself? Kern had always enjoyed new things, and
Audric
was definitely a new toy for his mate to enjoy.
“
Dammit
!” Haig stripped out of his smelly clothes and collapsed back onto the bed. He stared into the mirror mounted on the ceiling. He may be old, but his hair was still as blond as the day he’d taken Kern for a mate. His broad chest and well-defined muscular body was just as hard as the first time he’d sunk his cock deep into Kern’s ass.
Haig snorted. Who was he kidding? He couldn’t hope to compete with a man as sexy as
Audric
. One lick of the vampire’s tongue against the crown of his cock and Kern would spill his seed in rivers. Haig couldn’t blame his mate for giving in to the temptation
Audric’s
leanly muscled body provided. It was the fear of being rejected that kept Haig away.
Rolling over, Haig reached down and grabbed his jeans off the floor. He pulled out his phone and checked his messages. Although he already knew there was nothing new from Kern, he went to his saved messages just to hear his mate’s deep voice.
“Haig? Please answer. I’m so lonely without you here. I feel like I’m being torn in two, and I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to handle it.”
Haig pushed save once again before moving to the next message. Of all the messages he’d received, this one disturbed him more than any of them.
“I can’t go out. Everyone looks at me, expecting me to fall apart. I haven’t run since you’ve been gone. Please, Haig, please call me. My body feels like it’s burning from the inside out, and you’re the only one who can put the fire out.”
Closing his eyes, Haig dropped the phone beside him. Was the despair in Kern’s voice real or put on for Haig’s benefit? He’d like to think Kern was sincere, but with a hot little piece like
Audric
sharing Kern’s bed, Haig doubted it.
For the first time in a week, the phone beside him rang. Haig snatched it up, hoping to see Kern’s name on the display. His eyebrows drew together as disappointment began to set in. He hadn’t heard from his cousin Flick in ages.
“Hello?”
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve been trying to track you down?” Flick asked.
Considering cell phones were only a pipe dream last time he’d talked to Flick, Haig didn’t doubt it. The two of them hadn’t parted on the best of terms, but Flick had been better than the rest of Haig’s pack. “How did you?”
“I talked to someone who told me you were working for Neo Manos. So I took a chance and called him. He told me you’d left a couple of weeks ago, but he had your number.”
“Yeah?”
Haig prompted. He hated the thought of Neo feeling as though Haig had let him down by taking off. “So, what’s so important that you’d spend time trying to find me?”
“I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, but some of us were forced to leave our homeland. We’ve ended up just west of Bonner’s Ferry,
“You left Ireland?” Haig couldn’t imagine the pack anywhere but the green rolling hills he’d grown up on.
“Not by choice,” Flick told Haig. “Things started to go downhill fast after you left. Once passage to America became available, a group of us grabbed at the chance to start over in an untamed country.”
Haig never received word of his original pack. He’d never cared before, but something in Flick’s voice made him curious. “What do you mean downhill?”
“You’re father took Juniper Cavanaugh under his wing. I guess he thought to groom him to take his place, but Cavanaugh couldn’t wait for your father to retire, so he challenged him and won.”
Haig knew exactly what that meant. His father was dead. He searched his memory trying to come up with a face to match the name.
“Cavanaugh?”
Haig sat up in bed. He remembered the
Cavanaughs
well. They were a family of smaller than average stature. “I don’t remember Juniper, but I can’t believe any of them would turn out strong enough to take the Alpha title.”
“You wouldn’t remember him. Juniper’s only three hundred years old or so. But you’re not far off on your memories of the Cavanaugh family though. Until just before the challenge, Juniper stood five-foot-eight. Then overnight he started to grow. He was a healthy six-foot-four by the time he challenged your father.”
“How’s that possible?”
Weres
reached physical maturity around the age of fourteen. Haig had never heard of an adult were suddenly growing eight inches.
“No clue. He became such a tyrant that a group of us decided to leave everything we’d worked centuries for behind and move to the United States.”
Haig wasn’t sure what the pack’s situation had to do with him. “I’m sorry to hear that, Flick, but I was tossed out of the pack years ago when I chose Kern over my father.”
“I know, but we need your help. Galena managed to get a message to your mother. She thinks Juniper’s up to something.”
“Galena? What does my sister have to do with Juniper? Didn’t she move to
“No. Shortly after becoming Alpha, Juniper chose Galena as his mate. At the time, she thought he might go easier on us if he was given what he desired.”
Galena was his only sibling, and the only reason he and Kern had stayed with the pack as long as they had. He knew he’d do whatever he could to help her. “Does she want to get away from him?”
“Away from him?
That’s all she’s wanted since the day they mated, but Juniper won’t let her out of his sight long enough for her to run.”
“I’ll take care of it. Once I free her, I’ll put her on a plane and give you a call.” Haig had no idea how he’d get his baby sister free of an entire pack, but he’d abandoned her once—he wouldn’t do it again.
“You can’t do it on your own, Haig. Juniper isn’t a simple were anymore. He’s…
hell,
I don’t know what he is. If you and Kern can wait for me, I’ll help any way I can.”
Haig’s hand fisted at his side. “It’s just me.”
“What? Did something happen to Kern?” Flick asked.
“Yes. No.” Haig took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t want to go into it right now. Call me when you get close. I’ll meet you in four days at O’Toole’s Pub.”
“Okay,” Flick agreed.
Haig hung up. Only once had he and Kern gone into a dangerous situation separately. The result was Kern’s kidnap and subsequent mating to
Audric
. For weeks he’d played the pity card, feeling sorry for himself for something Kern had no control over in the first place. It wasn’t a question as to whether or not he
should
attempt a rescue without Kern—it was whether or not he
wanted
to do it without his mate.
Chapter Two
Haig knocked on the front door of the main house before going to investigate the obvious situation between his mate and
Audric
.
A woman he’d never seen before opened the door. “May I help you?”
“Is Neo awake?”
The woman narrowed her eyes. “Who wants to know?”
“My name’s Haig. I used to live here. I know I probably don’t have a job anymore, but I wanted to explain my actions to Neo.”
“Let him in, Evelyn,” Neo commanded from somewhere inside the house.
The woman, Evelyn, took a step back and opened the door. As Haig passed, he noticed the scowl on her face. Damn. What the hell was her problem?
Neo stood at the foot of the staircase, a matching expression on his handsome face. “Follow me to my study.”
Haig swallowed around the newly-formed lump in his throat and did as ordered. He was barely in the office before he spoke. “I’d like a chance to apologise for my actions.”
Neo calmly sat in one of the large wingback chairs. “Have a seat.”
Haig’s ass was barely settled on the soft leather before Neo spoke again. “Have you seen Kern?”
“No, sir.
I thought it was important to speak to you first. I sense that
Audric’s
living in the dorm instead of in the house with Kern. What’s going on?”
“You’ve been gone a month,” Neo reminded Haig.
“Yes, sir.
I know I shouldn’t have run off like I did, but I needed time.”
“What you did was incredibly selfish, Haig. There are two other men hanging on the edge because of your abandonment.”
Haig sat up straighter in his chair. “With all due respect, sir,
Audric
isn’t my problem. Now I realise I should’ve given Kern a chance to explain, but I’m not the one who cheated.
I’m
not the one who mated with another man.”
Neo stood and walked towards the window. “Kern had absolutely no control over what happened. I know you don’t have a lot of experience with vampires, but they…we…have the ability to take over someone’s mind. When I woke Kern in the dungeon that day, he didn’t know where he was or what had happened. He asked for you, and I had to tell him about the mating with
Audric
and your subsequent reaction to it.”
Haig stood and joined Neo. “Is that why
Audric’s
living in the dorm?”
Neo nodded. “The attraction between Kern and
Audric
came to a head about three weeks ago. Kern tried to keep
Audric
at arm’s length, but the mating bond is stronger than I’ve ever seen.”
“They fucked,” Haig surmised. His gut clenched at the thought of the two men in a heated embrace.
“No, but they got close,” Neo ground out between clenched teeth. “The guilt tore Kern up and drove
Audric
to the dorm. I tried to talk to both of them, but Kern’s completely despondent and
Audric
refuses to do anything that would compromise you and Kern’s relationship.”
Although the news that Kern had remained faithful in his absence thrilled Haig,
Neo’s
apparent anger didn’t. “I know I have things to work out here, and I will, but there’s a problem with my sister in Ireland that also needs my attention.”
Neo shook his head. “You’ve got a bigger problem right here. The full moon is days away and Kern hasn’t even begun to prepare
Audric
for what might happen.” Neo put a hand on Haig’s shoulder. “Don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made. Take care of home first.”
“I understand that, but I’m supposed to meet my cousin in a few days. He’s flying all the way from the United States. You’re asking me to choose between a vampire I barely know and my sister.”
With an annoyed sigh, Neo shook his head. “It’s not only about helping a vampire you barely know. It’s about saving your true family. Go see your mate. Really look at him. Maybe then you’ll understand what I’m trying to tell you.”
* * * *
Haig climbed the porch steps with caution. What would he find inside?
Neo’s
words kept coming back to haunt him. What kind of permanent damage had he done to his relationship with Kern for running off like he had?
With a shaking hand, Haig turned the doorknob. “Kern?” he called as he entered the house.
The whimper he heard in return shocked him. Why was Kern in shifted form? He strode towards the bedroom and opened the door. The sight that met him turned his stomach. Kern’s wolf was chained to the bed.
“What the hell?” Haig rushed forward. He knelt beside Kern’s wolf and tugged at the heavy chain. “Kern, come on, babe, shift for me.”
Kern’s wolf opened its eyes. It stared at Haig for several seconds before closing again.
Haig ran a hand down the thin body of the wolf.
I’ve done this to him
, he admonished himself. No wonder he was on
Neo’s
shit list. “I’m sorry I ran. I promise I’ll never do it again, but please, babe, please shift for me.”
What normally took a second seemed to take minutes as Kern slowly morphed into the body of a man. The drawn-out process, more than anything, proved to Haig how weak his lover had become. “Where’s the key?” Haig asked his partner.
Kern pointed towards the hallway but said nothing.
Haig rushed out of the room and scanned the hardwood floor. He caught a glimpse of a small silver key half-hidden under an area rug and grabbed it. “How long?” he asked Kern as he tried to fit the key in the lock.
Kern shook his head as his arms scrambled to wrap around Haig’s waist. In his weakened condition, Kern didn’t have the strength to hold on.
Haig gently removed the steel collar from around Kern’s neck. He threw the offensive device to the floor and drew Kern against him. Rocking the man he loved in his arms, Haig’s anger turned to
Audric
. “How
could that bloodsucker
let you do this to yourself?!”
“I sent him away and told him not to come back,” Kern rasped.
“Why?”
“Because I wanted him,” Kern admitted as he broke down in tears.
Haig held his mate tighter and cursed himself. He should’ve known better. The sexual pull of a newly mated pair was ingrained in
the were
species. When he and Kern had first mated, they’d basically stayed in bed for the first ten years, only coming up for air long enough to run and eat. The next one hundred years hadn’t been much different except they’d had enough control over their libidos to search out a new life for themselves.