CHAPTER NINE

C raig teleported directly to Willow’s doorstep and took a moment to get his bearings. Brayden would be close behind.

“OhmyfuckingGodwhatthe...!”

He glanced down at the terrified woman in his arms and tightened his grip on her. One look around the street and he confirmed they were alone, so he teleported inside. He placed Brianna on the sofa and crouched in front of her, taking her face in his hands.

“Hey, hey, look at me. Brianna, you are safe, okay? You are safe. We are on the ground and inside Willow’s house.”

Wide green eyes flashed around the room and back at him a handful of times. Her breathing was shallow yet labored, and she was digging her nails into his forearms.

Was it totally sick that he loved having her touch him, even under these circumstances? Probably.

“What...”

“It’s okay, just breathe. Teleporting makes most humans nauseous. Willow will be here soon. Just breathe for me, Bri,” he said, not breaking eye contact with her.

To her credit, she gave him a tiny nod and attempted a normal breath, but ended up slightly gagging.

In and out, in and out. Slowly, she got back her equilibrium.

“Humans?”

And there it was.

“How did we...what are you?”

He sat back on his heels and lowered his hands to her thighs. As terrified as she was, he knew keeping her grounded with his touch was the right thing to do.

This wasn’t his first human-vampire rodeo.

Sure, he could blank her memories, but a sudden desire for her to really know him overcame him. Even if just for five minutes, he wanted this. Against all protocol, he started talking.

“I’m a vampire. I just teleported you off the aircraft, which was about to crash.”

He watched her carefully. She fish mouthed for a few seconds then just stared at him.

“I won’t harm you; I promise. Not ever,” he continued when no further reaction came. “Nor will Brayden.” He added the latter because he’d sensed the prince’s imminent arrival.

Brianna jumped and reached for him. A part of his heart fucking melted.

“Bri!” Willow cried and dropped the bags she was carrying, dropping to her knees in front of her friend. He moved out of the way to let the two females embrace, but his eyes never left Brianna.

He stood and heard Brayden drop his own pile of bags on the floor.

“Grabbed what we could. The plane will crash in the next few minutes, so I need to inform the king and our PR team. Damn branding is all over the thing.”

The Moretti organization was just like any human company; they had accountants and business managers to ensure their reputation was protected. The main difference was that they were all very aware of the additional need to keep their race’s existence a secret, which meant a lot of paper shuffling to cover up their immortality and explain their vast wealth, something that was becoming more complicated with technology.

Craig ran a hand through his short blond hair and cursed. “Where is the crew?”

“Moretti LA. They’ll organize another jet for tomorrow night. One not tampered with by the rebels.” Brayden glanced at the two women on the sofa and shook his head. “Well, this is a mess. Christ.”

“You’re a vampire?” Bri asked, looking at Brayden with wide eyes.

The prince raised his eyebrows and turned to look at him in question.

Craig shrugged. “She asked.”

“Jesus, I am not going through this again. Wipe her memory. Now.”

“Hey, now,” Willow interjected, standing up in front of her friend. “Just wait a minute.”

Brayden swore out loud. A lot. They both knew what was coming, and Craig inwardly winced.

“No, Willow. Just no.”

“Give me a minute and let’s talk this through.”

Brayden crossed his arms. “Still no.”

Craig watched as Brianna began to shake as the shock wore off. The urge to go to her, to reassure her, surprised him. Instead, he stayed put, keeping his eyes on her.

Willow put her hands on her hips and glared at her mate. “This is my ceremony too, and I want my friend there. You said no because she didn’t know we were vampires. Well, hello”—she threw her arms wide—“she knows!”

A gasp got their attention.

“You’re a vampire too?” the voice squeaked out in horror. “Oh God.”

Willow’s face paled as she dropped to her knees in front of her friend.

Craig was starting to understand the pain the prince had gone through when outed as a vampire to Willow. It was hard to watch someone you cared about be terrified; harder still when you were the source of that terror and they rejected you.

It irked them, the fear humans held for their kind. Perhaps if they understood the need for blood wasn’t as aggressive or unable to be maintained as movies depicted, there would be less fear. But it was a risk they weren’t willing to take. History showed humans acted first, then asked questions later, no matter the challenge they faced.

If they were discovered, they’d be hunted, killed, and then a few of their kind kept in a lab to be experimented on. There was no doubt.

But when a single human discovered their existence, most of the time they wanted the gift of immortality, which had its pros and cons, just like anything in life. Rarely did they grant that wish; it was only for humans who were identified as a vampire’s mate.

“I was turned a few weeks ago, Bri. I chose this.” Willow looked affectionately at her mate. “Brayden is my mate. We’re getting married. Or bonded. Whatever.”

“Are you dead?” Brianna asked, her eyes darting around, looking all kinds of terrified.

“No. I’m very much alive. I understand how you feel right now. I felt the same when I learned what he was. You have nothing to be afraid of, I promise.”

Brianna stared back at her friend before glancing at Craig. It took all his power not to push Willow out of the way and pull Brianna into his arms. He wanted to protect her and tell her she was safe, which was a strange reaction to feel toward someone who wasn’t your mate.

And she wasn’t. It was impossible.

“He didn’t force you?”

Willow shook her head.

“You’ve been with us for a few days, Bri. What do you think?”

Her eyes darted around haphazardly. “You’ve seemed a little sad.”

Willow grabbed her hand. “Because I knew you would leave, and I would never see you again.” Tears welled in Willow’s eyes.

“Brianna, I cannot let you retain these memories. It’s not safe for you or my race,” Brayden said, crouching down beside Willow. “Babe, I know you want her at our ceremony, but it just isn’t possible.”

The two females were gripping hands.

“I know. But dammit, she’s my best friend, Bray. I’ve given up so much.”

Oh shit, tears were flowing down her face.

“Willow.” Brianna shocked them all by leaning forward and pulling her friend into an embrace. “Hey, it’s okay.”

Craig ran a hand over his face, sharing a look with the prince, but his eyes widened in surprise at what he saw. Craig shook his head.

Shit, Brayden.

She’s my mate.

Vincent will rain hellfire down on you. You should have gone down in the plane.

Brayden let out a laugh just as the two women pulled apart. Willow wiped her tears and glared at him.

“What’s so funny?”

Brayden did the international male shrug.

“Bri, you are doing amazing. Truly. I think it was about this point I asked Brayden if he was going to eat me.”

The two males let out an audible groan as Brianna’s eyes flew open. Willow quickly assured her they would not eat her.

Craig really wanted to, but not in the way she was thinking. It was completely inappropriate for him to even have that image in his mind right now, but he did, and it wouldn’t budge.

We could tell Vincent she’s your mate.

“What?!” he shouted out loud, and the females turned to stare at him.

What? Are you out of your fucking mind? he said, switching to telepathy.

It could work. The king never knew about...you know.

Yeah.

Sorry, man.

Forget it.

Craig wished he could, but dammit if this wasn’t the third time he’d thought about her now.

We’ll tell the king Brianna is your mate so she can come to Italy with us. It will keep Willow out of danger while we deal with the rebellion.

Because she’ll be busy planning the ceremony with Bri instead of wanting to come out with us?

Yes.

He had a point.

Sorry to point out the hitch in your plan, but the female hates me.

She does not hate you.

They both looked at Brianna for a moment, then back at each other.

Okay, she’s not your greatest fan, but she’ll do it for Willow.

This is a terrible plan.

So we’re in agreement?

Fuck it. Those tears of Willow’s had packed a damn punch. And Brayden had a point. With her friend in tow, Willow would be less of a distraction for the prince. The females could focus on planning the ceremony while they caught the bad guys.

If only it were that easy.

There was another reason why he was going to agree, one he was trying to ignore. He wanted Brianna with him. She’d just been through a very traumatic experience, and while a memory wipe would take away her memories, it wouldn’t remove the emotions.

The alterative was leaving her with a bunch of confusing emotions and a body full of shock.

Alright. But only if she agrees.

Brayden nodded.

“Can you two please stop eyeballing each other and tell us what you’re talking about.”

Brayden sat on the arm of the chair next to the sofa, looking all kinds of royal. “I have a proposition which Craig has agreed to. It’s this or I wipe her memory.”

Willow narrowed her eyes. “Okay.”

“What kind of proposition? I’m not becoming a freaking vampire,” Brianna said, holding up her hands.

Brayden shook his head. “No, nothing like that. If you come to Italy with us, then you must pose as Craig’s mate. At least in public, and especially in front of the king and queen.”

Brianna turned to Craig, eyes wide. “What does a mate...do you mean a girlfriend?”

She’d nearly broken glass with her high-pitched tone, and he threw his arms up in the air. “I told you she wouldn’t go for it.”

“You don’t know what I would and wouldn’t do!”

Willow stood and looked between them. “So it’s just pretend?”

“Of course,” Craig said, mildly and unreasonably offended.

Cue everyone staring at each other for a few minutes while Brianna chewed her lips.

“That could work, Bri. You don’t need to do anything, just pretend to get along and like each other. This way, you can help me with planning our ceremony and be my bridesmaid or whatever vampires call it.”

More chewing on the bottom lip, and while he wished the earth would eat him up right now, he still felt his cock twitch.

“We won’t have to do anything?”

Brayden held out a hand. “You do have to appear to be in love in public. The king isn’t an idiot, and neither is the queen. But that’s my offer. It’s the only reason a human would be allowed in our world, and only temporarily.”

“The ceremony is in a week, so it won’t be for long.”

Brianna gathered her long red locks and pulled them to one side of her neck. “Would I be in any danger around vampires?”

Before he could stop himself, Craig rolled his eyes.

That earned him a dirty look.

“No, you will be under my protection. And Craig’s.”

Another dirty look came his way, but this time, it softened. He held her stare, ensuring she knew he would, in fact, protect her to the best of his abilities.

And they were pretty fucking good.

She nodded. “Okay.”

He nearly smiled. Nearly.

“No funny business, though. We just pretend in public.” She glanced at him. “And you keep your hands to yourself.”

“Ditto,” he said, his voice more gravelly than he meant it to be.

Their eyes met momentarily.

“I’m not joking,” Brayden said. “It needs to look convincing. You need to get over whatever happened between you two.”

They both nodded.

“One other thing,” Brayden added. “Hand over your phone.”

Brianna’s mouth dropped open.

“You get it back when we send you home, all memory of us gone.”

“Including Willow,” she said, looking sad.

“Let’s not focus on that right now,” Willow interjected, squeezing her hand. “I’m so excited you’re coming to Italy with us and get to be my vampiremaid or whatever.”

Bri cringed. “Yeah, that’s too soon, Will. Let’s go with bridesmaid until I adjust to the fact that vampires exist, m’kay?”

“Sure,” she replied with a grin the size of Texas.

They only had a few hours of darkness left, so Brianna crashed out in the guest room while Craig and Brayden dealt with the aftermath of the situation they now found themselves in. That someone had tampered with the royal aircraft was concerning. The king’s plane was now being examined, and their departure delayed another day.

They may be immortal, but not even a vampire could survive a sudden plane explosion.

And like humans, they had to use modern transportation, as there was a limit to how far a vampire could teleport. Sure, you could do multiple jumps, but too many over long distances, and you quickly drained your energy reserves. Vampires rarely chose that option because it made them incredibly vulnerable, and like for any predator, that was simply unacceptable.

Craig lowered himself onto the sofa and breathed in the scent the human had left on it. A week pretending to be her mate.

God, it was going to be both heaven and hell.