CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

A ri lifted Sage off his knee and walked to open the door. He could have used telekinesis, but the last thing he wanted was for anyone to know he could do it.

Especially the prince.

“Brayden, come in,” Ari said, following the prince into the living room.

“Sage, this is Brayden Moretti. My nephew,” he said, introducing them.

“Nice to meet you, Sage,” Brayden said, giving her one of his handsome smiles Ari had seen many females fall for. “I hope my uncle is being a gentleman.”

“Hi,” Sage replied, then her eyes widened. “Nephew? Oh, right. Vampires. How old are you both?”

Ari grinned.

All those details were going to add fire to the fuel. Sage was processing enough right now, so he was filtering as much as he could. Especially now he was giving her a challenging and dangerous task. He needed her strong.

He sat down next to her again.

“Let’s leave those questions for another day. Although you probably should know that Brayden is our prince. The vampire race has a royal family—it’s a bloodline thing—and so you will witness him being referred to as such by others.”

Sage’s eyes flicked back to Brayden. “Prince.”

Brayden smiled, then sat his big ass in an armchair. “Yes, but you can call me Brayden.”

Ari was pleased to hear Brayden offer that. Sage would soon become a Moretti herself and the prince knew that. Offering her to drop his royal title was an acknowledgment.

“How many vampires are there in the world?” Sage asked, and Ari could see her mind racing with questions.

“Around ten million. Scattered across the globe,” Brayden replied. “We do not procreate at the same speed as humans, so while we live much longer, our children come along much later in life.”

Sage chewed her bottom lip.

“It’s okay to be interested, Sage. You are a scientist. It's natural. It’s also very different from what your colleagues are doing,” Ari said, and she nestled into him.

He looked up and Brayden was watching them. He looked happy for Ari, though they both knew what this meant for the entire race, if Sage was his mate. Momentous change.

Perhaps not overnight, but eventually.

She had absolutely no idea exactly how important she was. To him and to all of them.

Brayden and Vincent had to realize he was important to the longevity of vampires. They had always been vulnerable as a royal family. Never had there been so many Moretti vampires as there were today, but that could change.

Ari remembered the time when Frances was king, and they waited for his mate to arrive. It was why he’d been so aggressive in taking Guiliana and changing her.

Right now, though, Ari was forced to risk his potential mate to not only help rescue Callan but to destroy the greatest threat to them all.

“I cannot imagine what he’s been through. I don’t know anything about your bodies...”

Brayden smirked.

“He will feel pain,” Ari said, giving Brayden a chastising look.

“Well, we need to get him out.”

Ari’s heart burst with joy every time he heard her say that. He’d been so ready to step into the sunshine if Sage had chosen to experiment on his kind. That she hadn’t, had made him so damn happy he wanted to scream with joy. Yet, until he knew she was his one hundred percent, he was holding back.

“We do.” Ari glanced at the prince with narrowed eyes. “Which is why I asked Brayden to join us. I’m about to share a very important secret with you. No one outside the Moretti family knows of this but these are extenuating circumstances.”

“Ari—” Brayden started.

Ari held up his hand.

“Nephew. Need I remind you I am an original?” He hoped Sage wouldn’t understand what that meant. “My brother and I set these rules.”

Brayden leaned forward and his silver eyes burned.

“I don’t give a fuck who made the rules. They were put in place for a reason. I forbid you,” the prince said.

Sage turned to Ari, and he ran his fingers gently across her skin to calm her. He’d expected this response.

“No one can know what we are doing outside this room, obviously,” Ari continued.

“I said no.” Brayden stood.

Sage’s head flicked between them, her eyes wide.

“Stop scaring her,” Ari growled. “Hear me out, Brayden.”

Brayden crossed his arms and glared a whole bunch, which he ignored.

“My blood is powerful. As is Brayden’s. It runs through the Moretti bloodline,” Ari said, as the prince cursed repeatedly.

“I guess we can fucking wipe her mind,” Brayden muttered, running a hand over his face.

“What?” Sage asked, tensing.

“Brayden, we can’t get in there. We need Callan strong enough to escape.”

“So, give him anyone’s fucking blood. Not ours. Are you going to wipe her memory?” He pointed to Sage. “Or do I need to do it because she is Not. Leaving. This. Fucking Room.”

Ari was losing patience.

“Sage can take a vial in and slip it into his mouth when she’s taking samples. You and I both know our blood is substantially stronger, so the small amount will give him the strength he needs,” Ari said.

Brayden’s lips remained pressed together, but he kept listening.

“I’m not sure I can do it,” Sage said. “There are cameras everywhere. They’ll see me.”

Ari knew he only had half a plan, which was another reason he brought in the prince. He wanted his sharp mind on this, and agreement with the plan. Not that he needed Brayden’s agreement, but it would be nice to have it.

Sage was going to be his mate. She would have the Moretti blood running through her veins one day soon. Brayden knew that. Sure, there was no confirmation yet, but if she wasn’t they could wipe her memory.

“We need to find a way around that.” Ari nodded. “How many people are monitoring him? Callan will recharge quickly, but you will need to remain with him to get him through the building, as it's reinforced with tungsten. Our team will be in a van nearby to bring him here safely.”

Tungsten was the only metal on the planet that was impenetrable to vampires. Mostly. They could breach it, but that took time—something Callan wouldn’t have.

Sage let out a long breath and shook her head.

“I think there were only two. Or three. I’m sorry, I didn’t count. Our team was all in the room and there looked to be a counter full of computers. There could even be five.”

Ari’s brain began calculating the risk.

It was high.

Very high, given who Sage was to him.

He could change her first, but it could take her weeks to recover and be powerful enough—and have control over those powers—to go back in. They’d need to have a good excuse for her being off sick for that long and she may lose the position.

“Fuck. Fine,” Brayden spat out. “The idea has legs, but we cannot tell anyone out there and you will need the team support.”

Ari nodded.

“I know. I’m not saying it’s the perfect plan, but it’s a start,” Ari said. “They won’t believe he’ll recover on the first day, so that’s where things get tricky.”

The amount of blood required for a vampire to recover was way more than a small vial.

Unless it was Moretti blood.

“But...” Sage said, then shook her head.

“But?” Brayden asked.

“You could tell them I’m going to do it every day for, say, a week or two. Then, I don’t know, we could say Callan must have been in a better state of health, and the one vial worked,” Sage offered. “It appears, from what I read today, that it's exactly what they’ve been doing. Draining him of life, then reviving him, over and over.”

“Fuckers,” Brayden said.

Ari shook his head in disgust. They knew it was bad, but focusing on his suffering wasn’t helping Callan. They just had to get him out.

“So he’s been fed up with human blood and the vampire blood boosts him. Would that work?” Sage added.

He stared at Brayden as they both contemplated the idea.

“Yeah, it could work,” Brayden said. “We can’t get in, so we get vampire blood in. Sage, it is imperative you never mention it is Moretti blood or its power. Am I clear?”

Sage nodded.

“Yes. I don’t understand any of this, but I promise I will keep this highly confidential,” she replied, firmly. “I just want to help him.”

Ari wanted to pull her into his arms and his bedroom for about ten years.

Brayden stared at the two of them, then sighed.

“We keep this between us. No one else. Rest. Eat. Talk. You both have a lot to discuss,” Brayden said. “Nothing happens until daylight tomorrow, so let’s brief the team when you are ready, Ari.”

Ari nodded.

“Brayden.” He stood, and the prince turned. “Speaking of blood. We need to be able to ‘path.”

The prince nodded. “How have we never done this in all the cent... years?” He grinned and bit down on his wrist.

Ari did the same, and they both held out their arms and took a long lick of each other’s blood. He felt the power of the Moretti blood slide through his body and watched Brayden’s eyes widen as his did the same.

Connected?

Yes. Ari, what the fuck. Your blood...

We should discuss it another day, nephew.

Brayden nodded, but held his eyes a moment before turning for the door.

Ari turned and found Sage watching him.

“What just happened?” she asked.

“We have the ability to telepath when we share blood with another vampire,” he answered. Sage needed to know these things, so he was happy to answer some of the less shocking pieces of information.

Being his mate and learning she was going to become a vampire was definitely lower on the list. At least, he hoped.

“So you just bit your wrist?” she asked, and grabbed his arm where it was already closing up. Her thumb rubbed over the spot, and she watched it return to healthy, clear skin. “Remarkable.”

He slid his hand from hers and cupped her face. “No, mia stellina , you are.”

If only she knew how long he’d waited for her.

Automatically she melted against him, and he took possession of her lips, sliding his arms down her back and cupping her ass.

“I need you. Can I have you, Sage? Are you okay with this?” Ari murmured against her lips. Her fingers were digging into his shoulders, giving him the answer, but he needed her words.

She nodded.

“Say yes, Sage. I need to be sure.”

“It feels like I’ll die if we don’t,” Sage gasped, shaking her head. “Yes, please, fuck me, Ari.”

He pulled her from the sofa and kissed her completely. Walking backwards toward his bedroom, he pulled her sweater off and she tugged up his t-shirt. When he saw her white lace bra, he took control of the t-shirt situation and ripped his own off.

“Jesus, you are beautiful,” Ari said. “Skirt off.”

They were standing in the middle of the floor, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to be inside her.

Sage unzipped her skirt and kicked it off while his jeans went flying some-fucking-where.

He pressed her against the closest wall and his lips were on hers again.

“So fucking beautiful.”

“Ari,” Sage cried as his mouth moved down her neck and breasts. He pulled the lace aside and sucked one of her nipples. “Oh, God.”

His hand nudged her legs apart and slid under the lace.

“Shit. You are wet.” He groaned, sucking her lower lip. “So wet for me, Sage.”

“Yes. I need you inside me, Ari.”

Fuck.

He wanted to taste her, but both of them needed this connection like their last breath. He could feel her body humming and calling to him.

“Hands up.” He spun her around and tugged her panties down. They snapped, and he flung them into nowhere-land with his jeans.

“Oh, shit,” Sage cried when his legs spread hers and his fingers slid inside her.

“You are ready for me,” he said, guiding his cock to her entrance and gripping her hip with his other hand. “Take me inside you, Sage.”

He pressed against her, then inch by inch entered her. He wasn’t sure whose cries were whose as they both let out guttural sounds together.

His body slammed against Sage’s as he thrust deeply, over and over. His name was on her lips as she groaned her pleasure when he reached to rub her clit.

“Say you are mine, Sage,” Ari demanded, panting. “Mine, forever.”

“Yes,” she cried. “Oh, God yes.”

Hearing those words sent Ari’s body into a spiral he’d never felt before. His palm slammed on the wall above her, and his body enveloped hers completely. His other hand palmed her stomach as he thrust into her as hard as her humanity would allow.

She arched back her head, and he took her lips. His hand reached up to grip her chin.

“Fuck me, Sage. Clench around my cock and fuck me dry.”

The moment she followed his instructions, he clenched his eyes closed, and his cock exploded inside her.

“Ari, shiiiit,” Sage said, and he began to rub her clit again to maximize her pleasure.

Moments later, she was jelly in his arms. His forehead landed on the top of her head while he held her up.

The coupling was everything he had ever wanted from his mate. And so much more. He took a moment to enjoy the shattered feeling, then she shifted in his arms.

“Shower.” He pulled out of her and scooped her up.