The Vampire Who Thirsted for a Wolf (18 page)

no longer the leaders of our people. I am, and I say it’s time to leave

old differences behind.”

Kaname had never seen his parents looked so shocked in his life.

His mother gasped, covering her mouth with her delicate hand, while

his father’s posture went rigid. “Kaname?” Masaru asked. “What is

the meaning of this? What did you do?”

“Nothing Yakumo didn’t allow me to,” Kaname assured him.

“You’ve been gone a long time, Father. I’m not a child anymore to be

fooled by your games. This ends here.”

Masaru narrowed his eyes at Kaname. “You’re the one playing

games. I’m not sure how you managed to use the transference spell,

but you and I both know you’re no match for me under normal

circumstances, let alone now.”

That was, unfortunately, quite possible, but Kaname would not

give up without a fight. He reached out to his mate, seeking Derek’s

support. His mate was still on the plane taking them from Sydney to

Tokyo, struggling not to panic and holding Kaname’s body in his

arms.

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“
Hana
, please remain calm. I’m with Yakumo now. My parents

attacked him.”

“This isn’t good, Kaname. What can I do?”

“Just stay with me. Our bond is my strength now.”

With his mind’s eye, he saw Derek hugging his physical form,

fighting tears.
“I’ll always be with you,”
the werewolf whispered in

his mind.

Reassured, Kaname focused on his father once more. “Is that

right? Tell me, Father, just what do you plan to do anyway? Kill me to

take over? Kill Yakumo? What about all the people who support me?

Will you kill them, too?”

“Much must be risked at war,” Masaru replied. “Sacrifices must

be made. Hopefully, Yakumo will see reason, but if not…”

“Masaru, you don’t mean that,” Ayaka intervened. “Yakumo is

only a child. He knows nothing about the world. And Kaname is our

son as well. We can’t just forget that.”

Masaru glared at Ayaka, seemingly forgetting all about Kaname.

“You know as well as I do that while Kaname is elder, our authority

has no legal basis. The only way to push him aside is through death.”

Ayaka seemed horrified, and Kaname began to understand a little

more about the circumstances of his father going to ground. He had

always thought that Masaru had been affected by the sight of so many

deaths during the world wars. Everything had seemed so pointless

then, and even Kaname had felt the extreme exhaustion of

perpetuating an existence where there was so much useless

destruction. But now, he understood that there was more to it than just

that.

Confirming his guess, Masaru shouted, “We have traditions,

Ayaka. The old ways define the vampires as a race. If those traditions

are betrayed, what do we have left? Nothing.”

It was very rare for Masaru to lose his cool. During his time as an

elder, Kaname’s father had been nothing but composed, always

keeping a façade of refinement that Kaname had never been able to

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mimic. The change took him aback, and it seemed to shock Mizuki as

well. Kaname’s assistant had been watching the unfolding scene in

clear dismay, and now, she appeared to be absolutely lost, looking

from Kaname to Masaru as if not knowing what to do.

Oblivious to anyone else, Ayaka and Masaru continued their

disagreement. “You know I value traditions as much as you do,” she

said, “but we can remove Kaname from leadership without killing

him. He is still our child, our blood, and has been elder for decades

now. We can’t forget that.”

Masaru scoffed. “It’s not your decision to make. This was

unavoidable from the very moment Kaname left Japan to go with his

shifter friends.”

As he turned away from Ayaka, Kaname realized that going to

ground had an unfortunate and unexpected effect on his father.

Whatever problems had existed before had been worsened, and the

rational man who had once been the vampire elder was gone.

Whatever his parents had said about all of this being a lesson was

obviously a lie.

It made Kaname wonder exactly who and what had awakened

them. They couldn’t have just decided to come back one day, and he

doubted Takaba, Mizuki, or any of the other people involved had the

audacity to go through the complicated ritual used when old vampires

were summoned back. The fact that his parents had gone to deal with

Sophia themselves—which seemed obvious from what Kaname had

felt at the scene of the attack—also suggested something was wrong.

Under normal circumstances, they would have just delegated

something like that and stuck to maneuvering things behind the scene.

Whatever the case, it seemed obvious that Ayaka did not share

Masaru’s obsession, and her sanity had survived the heavy sleep of

the vampires. She would probably not be willing to openly fight him,

but at least she wouldn’t team up with him against Kaname.

A wave of psychic energy hit Kaname, but unlike Yakumo, he was

ready for it. He blocked it with his own power and waited to see what

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else his father would do. Growling in anger, the older vampire

attacked again, and while Kaname repelled the mental assault, Masaru

took advantage of the opening and raked sharp claws over Kaname’s

chest.

Kaname managed to dodge the brunt of the attack, which was

fortunate because Masaru aimed for a piercing blow that would have

most likely damaged several vital organs. The shallow injuries left

behind by Masaru’s claws closed instantly, as the damage would not

stick to Yakumo’s body, reflecting instead into Kaname’s.

Kaname’s bond with his mate pulsed with Derek’s fear for him,

but the werewolf remained a steady anchor, not allowing his emotions

to grow erratic and distract Kaname. Their connection gave Kaname a

boost of power, and he sent his own psychic blast at his father.

Masaru recoiled, flying back and crashing against the wall with an

audible crack. Ayaka took a few steps back, seeming torn between

aiding her husband or waiting to see what happened.

In the end, she wasn’t given the chance to decide. Masaru shifted

into a bat and rushed forward so fast Kaname had trouble following

his motions. He blocked Masaru when his father would have

scratched his eyes out and intercepted the elder’s next step. The bat

form was very fast and stealthy, but its strengths couldn’t hold on in a

hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, it was not surprising when, probably

thinking Kaname had been taken aback by the change, he rapidly

morphed into his legged form and sent another, even more intense

mental attack.

A different time, Kaname might not have been able to repel his

father, at least not from Yakumo’s body. But Derek’s presence

supported him, the werewolf’s love and courage forming an

unbreakable shield.

With that force behind him, Kaname struck back once again. This

time, he put his all in the blow, knowing he didn’t have much time

until his mother changed her mind and joined in. Not to mention that

Masaru probably had numerous allies, so Kaname needed to deal with

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113

the threat before other foes appeared. His mind hurt at the effort, the

transference spell burning him dry, but he didn’t relent.

Under Kaname’s new power, Masaru crumbled, his eyes widening

as he released a choked cry. He tried to fight back, and Kaname

suppressed a wince as he was forced into increasing the intensity of

his mental assault even more. Pain throbbed at the back of his skull,

but he gritted his teeth, accepting it as necessary.

In the end, it was Masaru who lost the battle. He collapsed to the

floor, twitching uncontrollably, his body spasming as the psychic

energy struck him. When the older vampire stopped moving, Kaname

could finally breathe again. A wave of guilt and relief flooded him,

but when he looked as his mother, he realized it was not over yet.

“I believe, Mother, that every species, vampires included, makes

its own path,” he told her. “The old ways have been important for us,

but they are now obsolete and only hinder progress. Prejudice and

judgmental attitudes can never be the hallmark of a true leader.”

He didn’t know if she heard him since she was still staring at the

fallen body of his father. “What have you done?”

“He is still alive,” Kaname replied. “Unlike him, I never kill for

useless reasons.” He eyed her speculatively. “If you think the same as

him, why didn’t you help him?”

“I love your father and I love vampires, but I cannot bring myself

to kill my children.” She fixed him with a cool glance. “That doesn’t

change the fact that your policies will lead our people to destruction.

Step down, Kaname. It’s for the best.”

Before Kaname could reply, several vampires burst into the room.

Kaname’s hackles rose as he noticed the Oshiro brothers leading the

way. They bowed when they saw Ayaka, but whatever they meant to

say was cut off when they saw Masaru’s fallen body.

Like the Yamamoto clan, the Oshiro family had roots that

stretched to the very beginnings of vampire civilization. Kaname was

not surprised that they were on his father’s side in this matter, as they

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hadn’t made a secret of disliking his ideas on vampire-shifter

cooperation.

“Yakumo-san,” the older brother, Yuuma, said, “we heard the

commotion. Is everything all right?”

The younger Oshiro sibling, Takeshi, looked from Kaname to

Masaru, obviously not understanding what had happened. “What

happened to Yamamoto-sama?”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out the respectful address referred

to Kaname’s father, not Kaname himself. “I’m supposed to be asking

the questions here,” Kaname answered. “I’m waiting for an

explanation as to why my parents suddenly decided I don’t have what

it takes to lead this coven. Were you the ones to awaken them?”

Both men stepped back as if they’d been struck. Obviously,

Kaname’s presence was an unexpected factor they hadn’t counted on.

“No,” Takeshi spluttered out. “We just…It was—”

“Be silent,” Ayaka snapped at the other vampire. Kaname

straightened his spine, ready to take her on if need be. More people

entered the library, surrounding Kaname. Kaname was disheartened,

realizing all too well that he could not defeat them all, but as it turned

out, he didn’t have to. The vampires fanned around him, and Kaname

realized that they meant to protect him, not attack. They were on his

side.

“Stand down, younglings.” Ayaka growled at them. “Don’t you

want to see our people return to their former glory?”

“There are already enough challenges in this world without us

adding to it,” one man said.

“As long as the coven is at peace, we are happy,” another vampire

added.

Anger flashed through Ayaka’s eyes. Kaname already anticipated

her attack and readied himself for the fight. “You will not stand in my

way, Kaname,” she said. “You won’t ruin my plans.”

It occurred to him that his original assessment of her psyche had

been all wrong. She had not stood back due to protectiveness toward

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115

her children, but rather, because she wanted to be elder herself and not

give the position to Masaru. Whoever had awoken her and Masaru

had done a number on her as well.

He put up a shield just as his mother sent a wave of power at him.

Agony erupted within him, the overuse of his abilities threatening to

bring him to his knees. In his mind’s eye, he caught sight of his own

body through Derek’s perspective. A thin trail of blood trickled from

his nose, and the wounds that his father had inflicted on him had

reopened.

Derek’s fear and despair made him push forward. Yakumo was

also there with him, urging him on. The younger vampire suffered

greatly because of having to go against the two people he loved so

much. Kaname would not disappoint him.

When the next flow of energy came, Kaname was stunned. It

exploded all around him, shattering furniture, making the ground

shake. Kaname’s first thought was that his mother must be more

powerful than he expected, but then, he realized this wave of power