Chapter Fifteen

This…was not a threat. Damon frowned when he saw a short, scrawny male wearing tattered jeans, a faded black shirt over a long-sleeved one, and scuffed-up tennis shoes. No, he most certainly wasn't a threat. He seemed more malnourished than menacing. His sunken features made his already large green eyes look even bigger, and his arms were as thin as spaghetti noodles.

The stranger held up his hands in a peaceful gesture. "I can help him." He pointed to Damon. "Or rather, I can tell you what he needs." He tapped his ear. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. But I promise I wasn't trying to be nosy!" His already large eyes widened even more. "I swear."

Now he sounded like Mason. Not the squeaky voice. The nosy and overhearing part. The guy seemed twitchy and kept glancing over his shoulder, scanning the surrounding woods.

"Who are you?" Jaytee demanded as he sniffed the air. "Other than a vampire."

The stranger hesitated before stammering out his name. "A-Arion."

Damon's eyes widened in disbelief as Casimir flew right at Arion, driving the small vampire into the wall with such force bricks crumbled and dust filled the air. "You set me up to be slaughtered. I'm going to kill you!"

Jax snarled ferociously as he sprang up from beside Damon, leaping onto Casimir's back with all the force of an enraged predator. But Casimir was too strong and refused to let go of the vampire, squeezing tightly around his neck.

Was it possible for a vampire to die of asphyxiation?

"What the hell are you doing?" Damon shouted as he struggled to get up from the ground, his body still weak and uncooperative. "Why are you attacking my mate, Jax?"

Raidh and Elvine landed, staring wide-eyed at Casimir. Raidh quickly shoved Elvine behind him, positioning himself protectively in front of her before both of them took a cautious step back.

Jaytee cursed under his breath and leaped to his feet, trying to pry the vampire out of Casimir's tight grip. "You're attacking his mate!"

Who was Jaytee talking about? If he was referring to Damon, then his twin would have said his name. Oh God! Was the emaciated vampire Jax's mate? This was a huge problem if Casimir was accusing the small vampire of setting him up for a slaughter.

Worse, if Casimir hurt Jax's mate… Panic rose in Damon's chest as he realized the magnitude of the situation.

"Casimir," Damon groaned. "Help." It was the only way he could think to get his warrior off of Jax's mate, but he wasn't totally using a tactic. He really did need his fae.

In an instant, Casimir let go of Arion and charged toward Damon. "Did he hurt you, nékah ?" His words were laced with concern and possessiveness as he splayed his hand over Damon's stomach.

Damon had never seen him look so panicked. "No, he didn't touch me."

"He was only trying to help." Jax's lip curled into a snarl, his canines and claws bared in a defensive stance as he stood protectively in front of Arion. His blue eyes blazed with fury as he glared at Casimir. "Keep your goddamn hands off of him!"

"I was just going to tell you, the guy on the ground needs to feed from his mate. The baby is hungry and needs its father's blood. It won't be satisfied with anyone else's." He looked over his shoulder but turned back around and stared directly at Casimir with fear in his green eyes. "Get your wounded out of here. They're coming. I came to warn you, but I was pancaked into the wall before I could get more than my name out of my mouth."

Casimir's lip curled as his gaze swept over Arion.

Jax snarled as if daring Casimir to come any closer.

"Things are not always what they seem, fae," Arion stated, glancing between Jax and Elvine before he took off at inhuman speed, too fast for Jax to follow.

Jax spun around, scanning the woods, then cursed when he must have come to the same realization.

"Elouan is approaching." Casimir's gaze darted around cautiously. "We need to leave."

Damon knew the only reason his mate would abandon a fight with his enemy closing in was because he didn't want any of them to get hurt.

"My dad needs to shift," Jaytee argued. "He's too weak to ride out of here."

Damon noticed Elvine staring strangely at Jax, as if she had never seen him before, and then she furrowed her brows. Could it be possible Jax had two mates? Both Arion and Elvine? That was a dangerous combination. Like you have room to talk.

"We need somewhere safe, but I smell humans inside this building. Last time Elouan attacked, we were ambushed by a swarm of vampires." Damon saw the worry in Casimir's eyes as he carefully lifted him into his arms. "How was your ride, ceutya nétya ?" he asked.

Damon gave him a thumbs-up. "As you can see, totally uneventful. Nothing but a chill time. Now if we could just get my dad out of here, everything would be peachy." He scowled. "He gave too much blood when I needed to feed."

"Oh no!" Elvine rushed over to Kalen, her concern evident on her face. Jax's intense gaze followed her every move, as if worried she might trip and fall in her haste. "We have to move him if there's going to be an attack!" She grabbed his muscled arm with both hands and tried to yank him up, but even in his weakened state, Kalen easily pulled her close, nearly causing her to lose her footing.

Damon watched as Jax jerked forward slightly, as if he could catch her from ten feet away if she fell.

"Fly home with Raidh, young lady." Kalen breathed heavily, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "You both need to protect your beautiful wings, sweetheart."

"Then who will protect your handsome butt?" Her meadow-green eyes shimmered as she placed a trembling hand against his bearded jaw.

Jax growled softly, but Damon knew that sound was because she cared about their dad and not from Elvine having a tender moment with Kalen.

"We all leave, or we all fight." She patted Kalen's chest affectionately. "Well, except for you and Mr. Baby Belly. But don't underestimate my tiny stature." She leaned in closer and whispered, "Am I allowed to use my magic, Dad ?"

She was being cheeky, but pride shone in Kalen's blue eyes as he weakly smiled at her. His dad truly adored her. "Help defend our family, young lady."

Then his eyes rolled back and he passed out, landing on the ground with a loud thump.

"Dad!" Damon tried to wiggle from Casimir's arms, desperate to check on his father, but his mate refused to let him go. "Put me down," he snarled. "I need to make sure he's okay."

Kalen shifted into his wolf, causing Elvine to stumbled backward. Jax shot across the small distance and caught her, his arms wrapping around her so she could regain her footing. "Can't have you hurting your tush, brat."

His hands lingered on Elvine before he abruptly pulled away.

"I'll go get Mason," Jaytee said. "We need to find a safe place for Dad." He looked at Raidh. "Stay by my side, Moonbeam." He surveyed their surroundings warily. "I can sense something dark in the air."

Just this morning Damon had prayed all the bullshit was behind them. Swear, one day he was going to learn to keep his thoughts and words to himself. They always seemed to come back to bite him in the end.

But there was one thing Damon didn't think would ever happen—regret giving up a power. But right about now he wished Aldrin hadn't taken away his power to create a portal. It would have been incredibly useful in this dire situation.

"Feed me." A growl rumbled deep in his chest as he tried but failed to turn in Casimir's arms. "I need to get back to full strength so we can take down this bastard."

Casimir glared at him. "You're not fighting, nékah ," he stated firmly. "You're carrying our pup. You'll stay with Kalen and the small fae and watch over them." His tone made it clear the conversation was over and Damon had better not try to argue.

Gnashing his teeth in frustration, Damon retorted, "He's coming to kill you, and we don't know who he'll have with him. You'll need all the help you can get, or have you forgotten the chaos I pulled you out of the last time he attacked?"

Damon was torn. He knew his warrior was right, but he also didn't want to leave his mate to fight on his own. Damon could hold his own against vampires or anyone else Elouan brought with him. He didn't want to be stuck on the sidelines while his mate fought for his life.

"If you fight, my attention will be divided," Casimir reasoned, placing a gentle kiss on Damon's forehead.

The soft brush of his mate's lips sent shivers through him.

"Please, stay with your father and let me handle Elouan."

The pain in Damon's stomach intensified. "I need to feed." He clutched his stomach. "Our little one is hungry."

Jaytee returned with Mason, who effortlessly lifted Kalen into his arms. "I called for backup and closed down the restaurant. I'll take him inside." He looked at Casimir. "Bring your mate as well."

Unable to wait any longer, Damon turned his head and sank his fangs into Casimir's chest, right over his heart. His mate grunted but kept walking as Damon drank. He would have preferred privacy, but that was in short supply at the moment.

As they entered the restaurant, Damon licked the pinpricks closed. It seemed since their mating, when Damon's wolf had joined them, Casimir's blood no longer drove him insane. He could now feed from his warrior without trying to drain him.

Mason gently placed the huge wolf on the floor behind the counter. "Sorry I don't have anything more comfortable for him to lie on."

"We appreciate any help you can give us," Jaytee said, shaking Mason's hand.

"We stick together," Mason replied. "The Frosts have always been valuable members of our community. You helped me get this place ready when I bought it, without expecting anything in return. Now I can finally repay you."

"That's not why we help when it's needed," Jaytee replied.

"But thank you," Damon added weakly.

"Thank you for sheltering my family," Casimir added before he looked down at Damon. "Can you stand, nékah ?" He rubbed Damon's back in comforting circles.

"Not yet," Damon admitted. "Your blood needs time to circulate through my body. Just set me down next to my dad."

As Casimir gently lowered him, Damon heard Jax yelling.

"You are not fighting!" Jax shouted at Elvine. "You're staying in here with my dad, Raidh, and Damon!"

"Don't tell me what to do, Mr. Nippy Nose!" Elvine shot back. "You heard Papa Frost. He said to help protect our family."

"He was delirious," Jax countered angrily. "He wouldn't have wanted you to fight, young lady."

"Don't call me that!" Elvine huffed. "I will fight until my last breast!"

Jax's choke was audible. "It's breath , not… Jesus, get it right."

Damon couldn't see them from his position on the other side of the counter, but he could picture them glaring at each other. "They need to get a room." He chuckled then winced.

"Why would they—" Casimir's brows shot up. "Why haven't they acknowledged their bond yet?"

"I don't think they knew until Arion showed up," Damon replied. "That's when everything started happening." Which was very strange. Elvine had been buzzing around for roughly two weeks. Sometimes preternatural didn't feel the pull of their mate right away, but Damon had never heard of a two-week delay.

It should have been obvious from the way Jax and Elvine constantly bickered.

"Who is Arion?" Casimir looked genuinely confused.

"The vampire you tried to turn into a part of this building." Damon was starting to feel better, the dizziness subsiding.

Casimir's expression darkened, his jaw clenched. "He set me up to be killed. If I see him again, I will erase him."

Jax growled, and Elvine let out a snarl. Damon looked up at his mate. "I wouldn't advise doing that."

Casimir's eyes began to glow that cerulean blue that always captivated Damon. "They're almost here. Promise me you'll stay inside, ceutya nétya ."

"Why are your eyes glowing?" Damon asked. "I thought you said that would stop once my wolf claimed you." Not that he minded the sight of Casimir's glowing eyes. In fact, Damon found it breathtaking, just like his warrior.

"The swirling mist won't return, but the glowing is part of my commander status." Casimir stood tall over Damon. "I'm going to intercept Elouan before he reaches this building. I also want to see who else is with him."

"I'm coming too," Elvine said firmly from over the counter.

"No way in hell," Jax growled.

Casimir glanced down at Damon. "This should be interesting."

Damon completely agreed.