Just a Vampire [tribal Bonds 1] (10 page)

A plan began to form in Rowan’s head as he climbed the stairs. It was wrong, and it probably was going to make Luca kick his ass, but Rowan couldn’t think of that right now. He had to save his family.
With or without Luca’s help.
Rowan just prayed his mate didn’t tear him a new asshole. He liked the one he had already. It would be such a waste.

Luca counted to ten. And when that didn’t work, he counted to twenty. He was going to kick Rowan’s ass all the way back to the hotel when he got his hands on him. How dare Rowan go to Electus Everson and demand the tribe leader help him.

It pissed him off beyond belief that Rowan had found a way to sneak out, but what hurt the most is the fact that his anamchara had gone to another for help. He was seething by the time he showed up at Everson’s hotel.

He could see the curious—and frightened—looks on the tribe’s faces as he walked to the elevator then waited to be taken to the penthouse. He tapped his foot as he waited. If he didn’t love Rowan so much, he’d lock him away for a very long time.

The man deserved it.
He stepped from the elevator and made a beeline toward Electus Everson’s office. He groaned when he stepped through the double doors and saw Everson glaring at him from behind his desk. Rowan stood on the other side shouting at him. This was turning into a real headache. Maybe he could cuff his mate to the bed.
It was a thought.
“You own me five million dollars, Ucathya!” Electus Everson snarled as Rowan whirled around and narrowed his eyes at Luca.
“You ratted me out?” He spun back around, accusing Everson as he began to storm around the desk. He had death and dismemberment written all over his face.
Luca quickly grabbed his mate around the waist and hauled him from his feet before he did any more damage to the alpha. If he didn’t figure a way out of this, Luca was going to owe Everson big-time. He may even lose his tribe and territory.
“You signed an agreement that he would never show his face around here again,” Everson shouted at Luca.
“But I didn’t,” Rowan replied for him.
Luca palmed his face and slowly dragged his hand down it. Now why hadn’t he thought of that stupid little loophole? Electus Everson could have his ass in a sling for allowing Rowan into his territory after signing that agreement.
He just couldn’t do shit to Rowan.
Luca started quietly laughing, the sound growing louder and louder as the hilarity of the situation struck him. He knew Rowan was going to give him fits, but this was beyond even what he had imagined.
Luca grunted but kept laughing when Rowan rammed back with his elbow. He just couldn’t seem to stop. Tears started rolling down his face. Maybe it was the tenseness of the situation or almost losing Rowan. Maybe it was years of pent-up emotion finally giving way. Luca didn’t know. He just knew he couldn’t seem to stop.
“It wasn’t that funny, Luca.”
“I know, anamchara, I just—” Luca shook his head.
Luca blinked in surprise when Rowan suddenly grabbed his face and pulled it down for a toe-curling kiss. With each swipe of Rowan’s tongue against his, over his lips, and inside his mouth, Luca’s laughter fell away to be replaced by a hunger so great it almost brought Luca to his knees.
When Rowan finally pulled away, Luca whimpered and tried to follow, his lips pursed for another kiss until he heard laughter on the other side of the room. Luca’s lips quickly turned to snarl at Electus Everson.
“You have something to say, Electus?”
“Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” Everson chuckled as he sat down in the chair behind his desk. “I’ve been waiting decades to see the great Electus Luca Ucathya brought to his knees, and it just took one little wolf shifter to do it.”
Luca’s hands tightened on Rowan as he growled.
“If I had known that was all it took, I would have introduced you to wolves years ago.”
“Rowan is not just any wolf, Electus Everson. He is my anamchara. No other wolf could have done it except him.” Luca knew he was admitting to a weakness, but he wouldn’t allow Everson to belittle what he had with Rowan.
“He’s leverage against you,” Everson snapped as he jumped to his feet, “and you know it. Look how easily you came running when you learned he was here. He will bring your empire crumbling down around you.”
“What you fail to realize here, Everson, is that I would gladly give up my empire for Rowan. I’d do it without a single thought. I’d give up my position, my tribe, even my life.”
The bravado suddenly fell off of Everson’s face to be replaced by a curious yet sorrowful look. “You’d give up everything for him?”
“In a heartbeat.” Luca had no hesitation in his answer. And he would have no hesitation in giving up everything for Rowan either. “Rowan is my world.”
“That doesn’t leave much room for your tribe, Electus.”
“Hey!” Rowan snapped. “You don’t get to talk to Luca that way. He’s as loyal to his tribe as he is to me. He would never betray them.”
Everson’s eyebrow arched. “Even for you?”
“I would never put Luca in a position where he had to choose.”
Luca groaned. He knew what Everson’s answer was going to be, and he dreaded it.
“You’ve done just that by coming into my territory after Luca signed an agreement on your behalf.”
Rowan stilled then slowly glanced back at Luca. His eyes were glistening with unshed tears. “Is that true, Luca?”
“Rowan—”
Rowan’s eyes rounded as he inhaled sharply. “It is true.”
“Rowan, you didn’t understand the rules of the agreement I signed.”
“What’s this going to mean to you and your tribe?”
Luca glanced at Everson only to find the man smiling smugly at him. Luca sighed and looked back down at Rowan. “Everson can bring me before the council for breach of contract. I can be sanctioned.”
“But you didn’t do it,” Rowan cried out. “If anyone should be sanctioned, it should be me.”
“Anamchara, do you remember when we first mated and I told you that more would be expected of your behavior as the mate of the electus?”
Rowan nodded.
“As the electus of my tribe and your mate, I am ultimately responsible for your behavior, just as I am ultimately responsible for the behavior of every member of my tribe.”
“But that’s not right. I did this, not you.”
“I know, anamchara.” Luca smiled weakly as he smoothed his hand down the side of Rowan’s face. “But you didn’t know. It was my responsibility to ensure you knew the rules. I was just so happy to have you back that I never took the time to explain them to you. This is not your fault.”
“I should have stayed home like you said.” Rowan’s head nuzzled into Luca’s hand. “If I had, none of this would have happened. I should have listened to you. And now—” Rowan shook his head, sorrow and regret filling his eyes.
“It will be okay, anamchara. I swear.”
“Enough!” Electus Everson suddenly shouted. “The two of you are each so ready to throw yourselves on your swords for each other that I’m going to be sick. Stop. Please. I swear I won’t bring sanctions against either of you if you just shut the hell up.”
Luca turned to look at the other electus. He was surprised to see sincerity in the man’s face. It was tinged by a bit of envy. “I’ll give back the five million dollars, but I’d like to keep the park.”
Everson’s head tilted to the side just a bit. “Just the park?”
“Rowan needs a place to run.”
“Fine,”—the electus sighed then pointed his finger at Rowan— “but this time, he signs something that says he won’t come into my territory without you.”
Rowan’s head popped up. “You don’t want me to sign something that says I won’t come here at all?”
“Would you follow it?”
Rowan chuckled. “Probably not.”
“Luca seems to have some sort of odd control over you,” Everson said. “If you agree not to come without him, then we have a deal.”
“Will you still help us save my family?” Rowan asked.
Luca groaned and buried his face in Rowan’s hair
. “Why can’t you leave well enough alone?”
he asked his mate silently
. “He’s letting us off the hook when he could be nailing my balls to the wall.”
Rowan growled and slid his hand down over Luca’s groin.
“Those are my balls you’re talking about. No one gets to mess with them but me.”
Everson just laughed. “Yes, I will.”
Luca’s head snapped up in surprise. “You will?”
Everson shrugged. “He’s kind of growing on me.”
Luca couldn’t help but chuckle at the satisfied look on Rowan’s face. The man deserved it. He had two powerful electuses in the palm of his hand.
“Yeah.” Rowan grinned as he leaned back in Luca’s arms. “I’m a fungus.”

Rowan growled and crossed his arms over his chest. Sitting in the limo was not exactly what he had in mind when he came up with his brilliant plan to rescue his family. Luca and Everson wouldn’t hear of anything else. They had even locked him inside the limo.

Rowan was ready to scream, or maim.
The waiting was killing him. Not only was his family being held captive by a vindictive alpha who wanted to mate his ass, but now his mate was running headfirst into the fray. If that didn’t tear at his nerves, Rowan didn’t know what would.
Rowan was perfectly capable of protecting himself, even without Jackson at his side. Rowan just wished Luca understood that. He wasn’t defenseless. Besides, he had more experience with Carlton than Luca or Everson did. He had survived living in the alpha’s pack for years.
When Rowan heard the limo suddenly start up and then take off at the speed of light, he clutched the seat, worry filling every inch of him. Had something gone wrong? Was someone hurt? Were they whisking him off to safety?
Rowan wanted answers.
He leaned forward and hit the button to lower the privacy screen between him and the driver so he could get his answers. He frowned when it wouldn’t lower. That wasn’t right. The controls for the privacy screen should have worked from the backseat. That was what they were there for. Maybe they were broken or something?
Rowan banged his fists against the window, but he got no response. “Hey, lower the window,” he shouted. Still nothing. Rowan was starting to get nervous. He knew there were those in Luca’s tribe who didn’t like him, but he was still the anamchara. They shouldn’t ignore him. Luca would be pissed.
Rowan wanted to know what in the hell was going on, especially since the limo seemed to be driving through the streets like the hounds of hell were chasing after it. Rowan grunted as they suddenly took a sharp corner and he was thrown against the door. As soon as the limo righted itself, he climbed back onto the seat and put on his seat belt.
He grabbed onto the seat for good measure.
“Luca, what in the hell is going on?”
he asked through their bond.
“Not right now, anamchara,”
Luca replied the same way. His voice was faint, but it was there, making Rowan breathe a sigh of relief.
“We’re just getting ready to go inside after your family. I need to concentrate.”
Rowan gritted his teeth. He wanted to ask more questions, but he didn’t want to interfere with his family being rescued. If Luca didn’t have his full mind on what he was doing, he could be seriously injured.
“Please be careful,”
he whispered.
“Always, anamchara.”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too, Rowan.”
Rowan waited for Luca to say more, but apparently, he had been cut off. A deep feeling of dread began to fill Rowan. Something was really wrong. He just couldn’t quite place what it was. He knew he was worried about Luca and his family, but it seemed to be more than that.
When Rowan’s head began to ache, his worry turned to outright fear. Something was definitely going on. Rowan rubbed his temples where the pain seemed to be the worst and tried to relieve the ache. When that didn’t work, he grabbed Luca’s coat off the floor and held it up to his nose. Relief filled him instantly as Luca’s scent surrounded him and the pain began to lessen.
That could only mean one thing.
Rowan was in deep shit.

Luca listened as he hid in the laundry room off of the back patio. He didn’t know Carlton’s voice, but he needed to find out everyone’s position. Everson was right beside him, a grim determination on his face as he nodded at Luca.

They were it. Luca hadn’t brought anyone else except his driver. They didn’t need anyone else. If two electuses couldn’t take down one single alpha wolf, they didn’t deserve their titles.

“He just ran out of here,” he heard a woman saying. Luca deduced that she was Rowan’s mother. The pitch to her voice gave her age away.

“He hasn’t left our side since he learned Rowan was missing, and now he runs out of here like his ass is on fire. I don’t get it,” a younger man, around Rowan’s age, maybe a few years older spoke.

Luca looked back at Everson, his brows pulled down in a frown as he listened closely. Who were they talking about? Carlton? Luca had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if he had swallowed a bucket of ice.

Nothing. Not a fucking peep. Luca tried once more to talk to his mate through their bond, but Rowan didn’t answer him. He quickly left the concealment of the laundry room and rushed outside.

Luca roared as he came running around the corner of the house, feeling as though his entire world was crumbling down around him when he stared at the empty spot where the limo should have been parked.

Luca.
“I know he took him.” Luca growled as he walked back into the
house where a stunned woman was gaping at him then quickly backed
away.
“Get back,” a dark-haired man shouted as he let his claws extend
to their full length. “I will kill you.”
“I am Electus Luca Ucathya.”
“You’re a vampire.” The man growled as his green eyes gleamed
in the low lighting of the house. Luca assumed he was Rowan’s
brother. They had the same eyes. “You’re dead if you come near my
mother!”
“I am Rowan’s mate.”
He watched as the young man’s and the mother’s faces fell. He
wasn’t sure if it was from shock or disappointment, but Luca didn’t
care right now about being accepted by his mate’s family. “Who just
ran out of here?”
“Alpha Carlton Gregory.”
Luca cursed. His claws extended and curled, wanting to sink into
the flesh of the alpha and rip away limbs. “Do you know where he
may be going? Rowan was in the limo the alpha just stole.” Rowan’s mother covered her mouth as a cry fell from her lips.
“My Rowan was here?”
“Ma’am, please.” As much as Luca wanted to comfort Rowan’s
mother, he didn’t have time. His mate’s life was at risk, and he had an
alpha to kill. “Can you think of anywhere he would go?”
“He would take Rowan back to his pack,” another young man
offered as he stepped forward. He looked vaguely familiar. “I know you.”
The young man nodded. “I designed your website for the Crystal
Cavern.”
“Right, I remember.” Luca nodded. Seth had been very helpful in
getting Rowan to him. He’d have to remember to thank the man.
Later. “Can you take me to Alpha Carlton’s pack territory?” “I can take you there. Follow me.”
Luca chuckled when Seth led them out back to a Hummer. He
glanced over at Everson as soon as he saw the macho vehicle. “I’m
driving.”
“Shotgun!” Everson shouted as he jumped into the front passenger
seat.
“Uh, does it matter that I own the damn thing?” Seth asked as he
climbed into the back seat, settling in and buckling his seat belt. Luca looked at the interior and knew right away that he had to get
one of these babies. “No, now tell me where Carlton’s pack lives.” Luca pulled away from the house and headed east as Seth
directed. Worry filled him as he thought of what his mate told him
about Carlton. “Did he really try to mate Rowan?”
Seth’s eyes narrowed as his lips twisted into a disgusted frown.
“Yeah, and when Rowan refused, Alpha Carlton banished him. I think
he was trying to force Rowan’s hand by leaving him without a pack or
something. He didn’t expect the rest of us to go with Rowan.” “Your entire family left with Rowan?” Luca was shocked. Seth shrugged. “Family is family.”
“Holy hell.” How fucking batty was Carlton? He would soon find
out as Seth pointed to a dirt road.
“It’s another few miles down this road.”
Luca made the turn, vowing to exact revenge on the psychotic
bastard if one hair was out of place on his anamchara’s head. He was
getting really tired of people kidnapping his mate. It was becoming a
habit lately. But it was a habit he was about to break—along with the
Carlton’s bones.
“Okay, slow down. We’re on the outskirts of Alpha Carlton’s
territory now,” Seth said as he unbuckled his seat belt and leaned
forward between Luca and Everson. “He has shifters as lookouts. He says they are guards, but as fucked up as he is, I call them lookouts.
There’s no telling what he’s up to.”
As badly as Luca wanted to drive up into the center of the pack
and kill the alpha, he knew he needed a plan. Nothing was ever that
simple. He slowed the Hummer down and parked it behind some trees
and then climbed out.
“Okay, so you can go in and distract him while we find Rowan,”
Everson said as he climbed out of the Hummer.
“Me?” Seth asked in a loud squeak. “Why do I have to be the
guinea pig?”
Everson smirked. “Haven’t you ever heard of expendable
personnel?”
“But I don’t work for you!” Seth said in outrage. “Try that shit on
somebody else.”
“Then come up with something better, genius.”
Luca was getting a massive headache. He was glad the two were
getting along so well, but he needed to find Rowan. As the two men
bickered back and forth, Luca walked away.
“Wait!” Seth called out. “He’s my brother. I should help.” “You can help by staying out of the way.” Luca growled as he
stepped into the woods outlining the houses. He knew shifters had a
great sense of smell, so he needed to be quick before he was detected.
What he wouldn’t give for a really good winter storm. There’d be too
many scents blowing through the air for the wolves to pick his out. “Are all vampires so goddamned arrogant?” Seth snapped. “I can
see my brother has his work cut out for him.”
Luca glanced back at Seth as if the man were crazy. Seth
apparently didn’t know his brother too well. It was the vampires who
had their work cut out for them when dealing with Rowan, not the
other way around.
“There he is,” Seth whispered as he grabbed Luca’s arm and
ducked.
Luca looked through the shrubs. He could see plenty of shifters,
but he couldn’t pick out which one was the alpha. It didn’t matter
much to him anyway. What mattered, and worried him, was the fact
that he didn’t see Rowan anywhere.
“Where is Carlton’s house?”
Seth pointed a bright yellow house sitting off from the other
surrounding homes. It was the largest and ugliest thing Luca had ever
seen. His jaw locked in determination as he skirted around the other
houses, still hidden in the woods as he made his way around to the
alpha’s home.
“Shit, we have company,” Everson said from behind him. Luca turned his head to see at least six shifters heading in their
direction. They all had lethal looks on all their faces. “Take care of
them,” he said before he took off toward the looming yellow house. “What!” Seth shouted.
Luca ignored him. He had a mate to save, and no one was going to
stop him. Not even Rowan’s brother. He crept to the door at back of
the house, two fingers turning the doorknob quietly as he pushed it
open.
He heard voices from another room, but none were Rowan’s. He
was in some sort of kitchen area. Luca silently walked to the archway
on the far wall and peered around the corner.
Two men stood at one end of the hallway in front of a set of large
white double doors. They seemed to be arguing, one of them pushing
his finger into the chest of the other one. He suspected one of them
was Alpha Carlton. He just wasn’t sure which one.
The other end of the hallway led to an open area, the front door,
and the edge of some stairs. Two more men stood on either side of the
massive front door, their arms crossed over their chests. Luca
recognized sentries when he saw them.
He also recognized the fact that either way he went, he would be
spotted. However, the two men at the end of the hallway arguing held
more interest to him. If one of them was indeed Alpha Carlton, and Luca could reach him in time, he just might have a chance of getting
out of this alive—with his mate.
Luca edged his way closer to the doorway, waiting for the perfect
moment to strike, when the sound of the front door opening had him
running for cover. He hid on the side of a large hutch, pressing
himself back against the wall.
Two men he might have been able to fight off enough to get the
upper hand. Any more than that and he would have to concentrate
more on surviving and less on taking a hostage for leverage. “Look what we found crawling around in the bushes, Alpha.” Luca groaned quietly when he heard a crash and a whimper. It
wasn’t Electus Everson. He knew that much. Everson would have
growled and attacked. That left Seth, Rowan’s brother.
“Seth, my boy,” another man said, “have you come to tell me
Rowan has been found?”
Yep. It was Seth. Shit.
“What are you talking about?” Seth yelled. “You took Rowan.” “I tried to save Rowan!”
“By kidnapping him?”
Luca heard a sudden yelp and a crash. He scooted past the hutch
and peeked around the corner of the doorframe. Luca wanted to growl
in frustration. Seth was picking himself up off the floor. The man was
so not helping the situation. Especially since he was Rowan’s brother,
which meant Luca had to help the guy.
When Alpha Carlton reached for Seth again and slammed him
into the wall, Luca knew he had to intervene. Rowan would never
forgive him if something happened to his brother and Luca could have
stopped it.
“Where the hell is Rowan?” Alpha Carlton snarled as he shook
Seth by his collar. “I know you’re hiding him from me. I want to
know where he is.”
Luca found that bit of information very interesting, if not a bit
peculiar. He thought Alpha Carlton had kidnapped Rowan. Now he
wasn’t so sure. But if not Carlton, then who had Rowan?
His insides twisted at the thought of some unknown having his
mate. He tried once more to talk to his mate through their bond, but
heard nothing in return. He was worried, pissed off beyond belief, and
ready to kill everyone in the room for answers.
“Why are you so interested in my mate, Alpha Carlton?” Luca
asked as he stepped out of the kitchen.
Alpha Carlton growled and tossed Seth aside as he lunged at
Luca, but Luca was ready for him. He caught Carlton by the arms and
tossed the man over his head. Carlton might have been a wolf shifter,
but Luca was a pissed-off vampire with a missing mate.
Luca swung around and crouched down, his claws extended,
before Carlton even hit the hard wooden floor. “Where is my mate,
dog?”
Carlton rolled over onto his hands and knees then sprang forward,
a long growl falling from his lips. He crashed into Luca with the
weight of a freight train. Together, they both went crashing to the
floor.
Luca winced when Carlton got in a sharp-clawed swipe at his
side. He pushed the pain to the back of his mind and wrestled with the
alpha until he had him pinned to the floor.
He could hear the threatening growls of the wolves around him.
Pinning their alpha to the floor wasn’t Luca’s smartest move, but he
needed answers and only one man had them.
“Where is Rowan, Alpha Carlton?” Luca snapped as he glared
down at the man beneath him. “Where is my mate?”
“Rowan is mine,” Carlton growled. “He has always been mine.” Luca snarled and raised his fist into the air, ready to drive it into
Carlton’s face. When someone grabbed his wrist before he could
swing his arm down, Luca bared his teeth and snapped his head
around.
“Everson?” Luca frowned. “What in the hell are you doing?” Luca was even more confused when he noticed several vampires
standing around, both from his tribe and Everson’s. Seth was being
helped to his feet by another vampire. The wolves that had been with
Carlton knelt on their knees by the door, their hands clasped behind
their heads.
“Luca,” Everson said, “you need to get off of him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Everson,” Luca said as he stared back down
at Carlton. “He knows something about Rowan, and I want to know
what. I’ll beat it out of him if I have to.”
Luca went to raise his fist into the air again when he heard a low
snarl from beside him, one that made the hairs on the back of his neck
stand on end. He turned to stare at Everson in total shock. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Get off of him, Luca, now.”
There was something in Everson’s voice that told him that the
only way he was going to walk away with his head still attached to his
shoulders was to do exactly what Everson said. As slowly as he could,
Luca stood up and stepped away from Carlton.
“What’s going on here, Everson?”
Anguish and resignation marred Electus Everson’s face as he
looked from Luca down to the alpha wolf still lying on the floor. He
sighed deeply, and his shoulders slumped as if the weight of the world
had just settled on them.
“He’s my mate,” Everson whispered.
Luca closed his eyes for a moment, partly because he couldn’t
stand to see the anguish on Everson’s face but also partly because he
knew he couldn’t beat the truth out of Carlton now.
“He still knows something about Rowan,” Luca said. “I need to
know what he knows.”
Everson nodded. “I’ll get your answers.”
Luca blinked in shock when Everson snapped his fingers and four
vampire soldiers walked over and hauled Carlton to his feet. When Carlton started to struggle, Everson simply pulled out a black gun out of his suit jacket and shot Carlton with a red feather-tipped dart.
Carlton almost instantly slumped, his head dropping forward. Luca’s eyebrows shot up when Everson stepped forward and
plucked the dart from Carlton’s neck then smoothed his hand down
the alpha wolf’s cheek before nodding to his men. The vampire
soldiers carried the unconscious Carlton out the front door. Luca stared after them, his heart sinking as they disappeared from
sight. He turned to growl at Everson, waving his hand toward the
door. “How in the hell are you going to get any answers out of him
when he’s unconscious?”
Everson arched an eyebrow and turned to look at the three wolves
kneeling on the ground by the door. He snapped his fingers again then
pointed to the floor. The three wolves were hauled to their feet and
pushed across the room, then shoved back to their knees right in front
of Everson.
Luca’s jaw dropped. “I have got to learn how to do that,” he
whispered to himself. Everson must have heard him though because
the man arched an eyebrow at him before turning to face the wolves. “You know who I am?” Everson asked, his hands folded together
in front of him. He was the very picture of calm, cool, and collected.
It was scary as hell.
Two of the wolves nodded. The third had apparently lost his mind
because he leaned forward and spit on Everson’s shoes. The vampire
holding onto him started to jerk him back when Everson shook his
head.
And that was when Luca started to get worried.
He didn’t know Electus Daniel Everson that well. They had been
adversaries for more years than he cared to count, fighting for every
inch of territory between them. They had even fought each other,
sometimes in hand-to-hand combat. Over the years, Luca had learned
to respect the other electus if not fear him.
But he had never seen the dead calm in Everson’s eyes like he did
now. It sent a shiver of cold fear down his spine. Luca quickly