Chapter Eight

None of them were able to go back to sleep. While Elvine went downstairs to make herself a glass of warm milk, Jax sat behind Arion on the edge of the bed and curled his arms around him, resting his chin on his mate’s shoulder.

“Hi, pumpkin.” Jax had learned that, sometimes, the best way to ease someone’s anxiety was to avoid talking about the problem.

Which, in Arion’s case, was his abuse. It was etched into his skin and carved into his heart, causing deep wounds in his ability to trust.

Jax could sense his mate’s doubt. His little vampire didn’t think he could even have complete faith in Jax or Elvine, the two people he should have absolute trust in.

“Hi.” Arion cleared his throat. “You’re trying to disarm me with small talk.”

He was perceptive.

“Or I just like holding you while we enjoy some quiet time.” Which wasn’t a lie. Arion had no idea how much peace he and Elvine brought him.

It wasn’t easy living for over two centuries and never really feeling complete. A million times Jax had ridden the open road with his family, feeling content just being with them while they cruised along on their hogs, yet the hollowness in his chest was always present.

With Arion and Elvine now in his life, it finally felt as if the void was slowly filling. But they couldn’t truly be happy when one of them was hurting.

There was a haunting presence in Arion’s amber eyes, a silent cry for help. Though Jax had only met him tonight, he was determined to slay whatever demons haunted Arion and bring him peace and healing.

“Do you want to know how I met Elvine?”

Jax felt some of the tension ease from Arion.

“Is she really that bad at idioms?”

“You have no idea.” Jax chuckled. “The night I met her, she was standing on an overturned crate, peeking in our living room window. Her best friend, Raidh, was in hiding from his father.”

“Why was he hiding from his father?” Arion seemed deeply interested.

Jax wanted to let him know he wasn’t the first mate to show up with trouble on their heels. Maybe then Arion would open up to him.

“My brother, Jaytee, dubbed him Dickhead Dad.” Jax chuckled then sobered. “What it all boiled down to was the guy was envious of Raidh’s powers. He cared about what other people thought more than his own son’s feelings. He paid vampires to kill Raidh and, as backup, blew him the kiss of death.”

Jax didn’t care how long he lived. He would never forget the moment Raidh had died in Jaytee’s arms. By a complete miracle Casimir knew how to get Raidh’s soul back.

“His own father tried to kill him?” Arion didn’t appear horrified, just curious, which told Jax just how deep his mate’s scars went.

“ Did kill him.” Jax explained everything that happened the night Vicino had shown up, including what the Ultionem had done to Damon. Then how Casimir had arrived and what had taken place afterward and the hell everyone had gone through.

Jax wasn’t going to try and hide the tears brimming in his eyes. That had been an emotional roller coaster from hell dealing with all that in such a short period of time. They’d thought they’d lost Raidh and Damon, and Jaytee had been talking about not wanting to live without his mate.

Arion turned and curled his arms around Jax, holding him tight. “And then I add to the turmoil by leading those vampires to Casimir,” Arion murmured as he trembled. “I had no choice. In fact, I was beaten for refusing to help Akai. He never told me who Casimir was or why he wanted to find the guy. I just had to do exactly what Akai told me, act a certain way, or…” Arion’s trembling worsened.

Jax held him tightly, giving his mate time to gather himself instead of pushing him to continue. He simply sat there and slowly rocked Arion, watching as Elvine returned. She stopped at the door, as if afraid to intrude, her gaze focusing on Arion.

The woman was insane if she thought she was an imposition. Through everything that had happened, she’d been there, even going up against Jax when she wanted to fight the horde of vampires who had shown up at Wild Tiger Barbeque.

No lie. Jax had been furious and terrified. One rip of her wings and she would die instantly. Yet, Elvine had refused to back down, ready to defend her family. But she was so tiny, and Jax had feared she would be killed.

He waved her in, and she sat on their right, placing a hand on Arion’s back.

“If I share why I blurred my memories so you two couldn’t see, will you tell us what’s going on with you, honey bunny?”

Jax wanted to know as well. Elvine always seemed so feisty, ready to take on anyone. It was hard to imagine anything casting a shadow over her bubbly personality.

“You two are starting to give me a complex,” Arion said into Jax’s shoulder. “First my Tinker Bell wants to fly me around in her arms because she doesn’t think I can handle myself. Now I’m curled up in Jax’s lap like a child who had a nightmare.”

“But I like flying you around in my arms,” Elvine protested. “You feel good against me, and you’re as light as a feather.”

“Oh my god.” Jax laughed. “You finally got an idiom right.”

She wrinkled her nose. “What’s an idiom?”

Arion finally looked up. “You’re joking, right?”

Right before she glanced away, Jax saw the hurt flash across her eyes. He opened his mouth to apologize but was suddenly captivated by the stunning display unfolding before him.

Her back began to shimmer with an array of vibrant colors that seemed as if they were pulsating beneath her skin. The sleeveless blouse she wore had a V-shape cut that exposed most of her upper back, but even beneath the fabric, he could see the glowing colors.

Suddenly, the vibrant colors coalesced into delicate wings that seemed to defy reality as they emerged even through the material of her shirt and began to flutter gracefully.

All of this occurred in mere seconds, leaving Jax awestruck.

Elvine rose toward the ceiling, a deep scowl on her face. “It’s not nice to make fun of people, Mr. Nippy Nose. Words hurt.”

Jax frowned. “How did your wings go right through your shirt without damaging anything?”

“Don’t try to change the subject.” She folded her arms, and now Jax wanted to see her flying around their room naked.

“But we’ve been correcting you from day one, buttercup,” Jax argued, forcing the image of his mate flying naked out of his head.

“And I ignored everyone’s razzing,” she replied. “But now that we’re mates, it hurts even more that you poke fun of me.”

“Baby, come here.”

She paced back and forth in the air. She’d done that once before, when she’d found out Raidh’s father had paid vampires to kill his own son. But that night she had actually made the house shake.

“How can you do that?” Arion wiggled his finger at her. “Pace in the air? Aren’t you afraid you’ll trip and fall?”

Jax furrowed his brows at Arion. “She’s got wings. How is she going to trip and fall in the air?”

“So now you’re poking fun at me?” Arion asked but turned slightly and winked at Jax.

He had no idea what that wink was for. If he argued with Arion—even in jest—Jax would still end up the bad guy.

“How did our night turn from fucking to fighting?” Jax was utterly confused. Elvine had never shown any signs that their good-natured ribbing bothered her. If she had, everyone would have immediately stopped. The Frosts weren’t cruel men. They lived by a code, which was to always help, never harm.

Except when some asshole needed to die. Then they banded together and threw down.

“I was very sheltered,” Elvine argued. “The Sparklenests are considered lower class, which means we were treated like second-rate citizens.”

Jax wanted to correct her, to tell her it was second- class citizens, but he was wise enough to keep his mouth shut.

“Isn’t it second—”

He clamped a hand over Arion’s mouth. “Not a good time, pumpkin.” Then he looked up at Elvine, removing his hand from Arion. “I’m sorry, babe. I’m not up to speed on Unseelie politics.”

She stopped pacing and slammed the side of her fist against her palm. “If you don’t have money and prestige, you’re basically filth!”

“Sweetheart, please calm down.” Jax felt the floor vibrate under his feet. How was she doing that without chanting a spell or something?

“Is she making the room tremble?” Arion whispered to him.

“She’s done it before,” Jax replied. “I think it happens when she’s really pissed off.”

“So my parents kept a close eye on me, afraid I might be harmed because of our static,” Elvine continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted.

Status , Jax thought.

Then she glared at him, and Jax had an overwhelming urge to take a step back. “So, forgive me if I haven’t had a proper education or picked up on human turns of phrase as well as everyone else has. I like my life, Jax. I love my family, and I’m glad we don’t have to act like those pompous blowhearts.”

Blowhards.

“We have fun, our gatherings have given me so many good memories, and I like my simple life.” She swiped away her angry tears, and all Jax wanted to do was hold her. “Raidh was born with privilege, but he has always treated me and my family like they were his own. He’s spent centuries teaching me how to wield magic that is only taught to those shmarmies.”

Yeah, Jax had no clue what that word was.

“We’re all born with magical abilities, but you have to be taught how to use them. Before Raidh started giving me lessons, I only knew basic, trivial spells, like how to clean my room without even chanting.” She snapped her fingers, and Jax glanced around, but he didn’t see any changes.

“Your room is already spotless,” she said. “You should have seen Damon’s before Casimir moved in there. He was such a pig.”

“Trust me, I know.” Jax shivered. “I’ve lived with him my entire life.” He crooked his finger. “Feet on the ground, ma petite . I’m glad you shared that with us, but you’ve yet to tell Arion or me what problem you’re dealing with.”

Elvine slowly descended. “It’s illegal to leave our realm, but Raidh and I have always snuck out to see the human world and explore, though we’ve never stayed gone for more than a day. About a year ago, one of the king’s guards caught me slipping through a passageway I created. I thought I would be arrested,” she said with a quiver to her voice. “Unseelie punishments are harsh, but the human world is just so fascinating and too irresistible to stay away from.”

“What happened with the guard?” Arion asked cautiously, more than likely feeling the same wariness Jax was experiencing.

She crossed her arms and toed the carpet as she avoided their gazes. “He said he would be willing to take a certain kind of bribe to keep his mouth shut.”

Jax’s canines instantly lengthened as his claws emerged, while Arion let out a loud hiss.

Closing his eyes briefly, Jax prayed… She’d told them she hadn’t been with a man in centuries, but what if she’d just been afraid to tell them the truth? Now Jax’s heart was thundering, terrified to know what happened. “Buttercup, did…”

“No, I told him I would meet up with him once his duties were over for the day, but I’ve been dodging him ever since.”

Relief had never felt so good. Jax could finally breathe again.

“But sooner or later, he’ll catch up with me,” she said. “I have to return to the realm often so I’m not reported missing. If you’ve noticed, every other day I disappear for a few hours.”

Jax had noticed. He noticed everything about Elvine, even before he knew they were mates. There were moments when he’d had to force himself not to outright stare at her.

She started opening drawers and looking inside of them. Jax wanted to ask why she was doing that, then recalled Raidh telling them she liked to snoop.

Not that he had anything to hide.

“I’ve also gotten very good at creating passageways.” She picked up a pair of his boxer briefs, sniffed them, then put them back in the drawer. “I can use a passageway now without having to wait for the golden rope to appear.” She turned to him. “At least you don’t use too much detergent like Damon.”

“Unlike my brother, I know how to do laundry.” Jax pulled her into his arms. “How am I supposed to feel comfortable with you going back there, knowing you have some deviant looking for you?”

“I don’t like it one bit,” Arion ground out. “Can’t you report him? Oh, wait. You were doing something illegal.”

“And it’s the only time I’ve ever been caught when doing something I’m not supposed to be doing,” Elvine huffed. “Nine hundred years of sneaking out, and some anus stumbles on me with blind luck.”

“Asshole. There I said it for you.” Arion gave a firm nod. “He’s a predator, an asshole who has free rein to impose his sick pleasures on those who can’t fight back.”

Arion had said that a little too vehemently. Jax understood his mate’s rage because he felt the same way, but the guy sounded as if he was talking from experience.

“Exactly.” Elvine waved a hand at Arion. “You understand, honey bunny. Big, mean men who think people of short stature are easy prey. Men who wouldn’t think twice about torturing you.”

Arion snorted. “Trust me, I know the type.” He blinked a few times, realizing too late he’d walked right into that one.

“So who is your meanie?” Elvine asked in a softer tone. “Who thinks they can hurt you and get away with it, Arion?”

“That was foul,” he ground out, anger filling his amber eyes. “I don’t appreciate my own mate setting me up like that.”

Jax grabbed the vampire before he could use his inhuman speed to run away. He pulled Arion’s back to his chest then folded his arm around him. Now Jax had both of them tucked close to him.

Elvine turned and stroked Arion’s cheek, smiling at him with pain in her eyes.

Seeing his mates hurting so badly made Jax want to go on the hunt. He wanted to tear out that guard’s throat and eviscerate whoever had tortured Arion.

“I wasn’t setting you up.” Elvine ran her small fingers over Arion’s chest, causing him to flinch. “I know you feel as if you can’t trust anyone, but what we were doing is called sharing. There wasn’t any malice involved, honey bunny.”

“I don’t want to have any secrets between us,” Jax added. “I’m not saying to share everything, but keeping the harmful secrets inside will only cause them to fester.” He kissed Arion’s forehead. “We’re not going to force you to tell us. You’ll always have choices, babe. But we can’t help to protect you if we don’t know what we’re protecting you from.”

Jax’s fucking heart hurt seeing the struggle in his mate’s eyes. Arion was fighting internally, debating on whether he should tell them or keep his secrets locked inside.

As badly as Jax wanted to tell him what to do, the ultimate decision had to be Arion’s. The vampire had had too many of his choices taken away, and Jax wanted to give Arion back some of the power over his life that had been stolen from him.

Arion pushed against Jax’s arm, and Jax let his mate out of their embrace.

With his back to them, their mate said, “About ten years ago, my uncle Alonzo betrayed our coven leader in the worst way imaginable. He slept with Ozel’s consort. Nerezza wasn’t his mate, but for a man with a black heart, Ozel loved her. They even had a child together. Akai.”

The guy who’d forced Arion to set up Casimir. Jax wasn’t sure if he should sit down for this but decided to remain standing.

“Alonzo has always been opportunistic. I swear the bastard doesn’t possess a soul.” Even from behind, Jax saw his mate’s jaw clench. Then Arion gave a derisive laugh. “He’s the one who slept with Nerezza, but I’m the one who paid the price.”

“How?” Elvine asked breathlessly.

Arion turned, his features a cross between raw fury and hopelessness. “Ozel went insane that night and murdered Nerezza. The fools had used the same bed she’d shared with Ozel. I hate my coven leader with every single breath I take, but even I find what they did to be disgraceful.”

In Jax’s opinion, having an affair in the same bed as the one you shared with your partner was the highest form of disrespect. He didn’t even want to imagine one of his mates doing that to him. Just the thought alone made his wolf go insane.

“To save his treacherous ass, my uncle offered me to Ozel, hoping to appease him by giving him a lowly pet.”

Jax pressed a hand to his stomach, feeling as if he was going to be sick. “How old were you?” He wouldn’t put his mate past 120 years.

“I’d just reached maturity.” Arion closed his eyes. “I’m 140 years old.”

Although nothing would have made the situation better, at least his mate had been an adult when… Shit. Jax was going to kill the son of a bitch. He was going to rip Ozel’s heart right out of his chest. Goddamn, Jax’s hands were shaking. That was how badly he wanted to get his hands on Arion’s coven leader.

“Is he the one who left all those scars on you?” Jax closed his eyes so he could try to beat back his wolf. For an entire decade, his sweet little vampire had been suffering at the hands of a sadist.

“I should be so lucky.”

Arion’s words chilled Jax to the bones.

“What do you mean?” Elvine asked, looking just as sick as Jax felt.

Running a hand over his hair, Arion glared at the floor. “Although I hate to even admit it, Ozel was decent toward me. Sounds twisted as hell, I know. Especially since he allowed his son to do this to me.” Arion gestured toward his body. “Akai would lie in wait whenever Ozel and I shared time together.”

Jax didn’t have to ask what that meant, and to save his and Elvine’s sanity, he didn’t ask Arion to clarify for her.

“Afterward, when I was alone, Akai would grab me and take me to his basement and unleash his hatred on me.” He swallowed roughly. “He told me that since he was only allowed one victim to brutalize, he chose me over my uncle. The uncle who had sent Akai into madness after his mother was killed. I don’t know what he used with that metal claw, but whatever it was, it wouldn’t allow me to heal. And as you can see, most of the time I was starved.” He looked at Elvine. “That’s why your blood doesn’t affect me the same way it does other vampires. I’ve gotten so used to going hungry that I learned to control my urges until they aren’t even urges anymore.”

Elvine slung her arms around Arion, holding him so tightly the man’s ribs should have cracked. Jax pressed the pad of his thumb and index fingers into his eyelids, blowing out a breath.

He had not been prepared to hear that. He knew Arion had been tortured, but…

“I need to go for a run,” Jax said, feeling himself unraveling.

“We’ll go with you. We can easily keep up,” Elvine said. “I want to see just how fast my honey bunny and pookie can run.”

“Pookie? Is that what you’re calling me now?” Jax smiled as he wiped a hand down his face then roughly sniffed back his tears. “We have a few hours before dawn. Just make sure we keep an eye on the night sky to let us know when to head back inside.”

Arion grabbed Jax’s arm when he turned to leave the room. “I had no choice with Casimir. Akai told me that if I didn’t do exactly what he said, act precisely how he wanted me to, I would be punished harder than I’ve ever been before. I didn’t want to… I mouthed to Casimir that I was sorry and even stuck around to make sure… I don’t know. I just—”

Jax enveloped Arion, resting his cheek on the man’s head. “I know, pumpkin.”

“That’s why I slipped away from Akai tonight and warned you guys. And even though Casimir tried to kill me, you don’t know how relieved I was to see him alive.”

“Let’s go for that run.” He looked at Elvine. “For that fly, too. It’ll help us burn off some energy.”

“I thought we already did that,” Arion said against his chest.

Jax shook his head. Even after what Arion had been through, even after opening himself up to them and becoming emotionally wrung, the guy still had a sense of humor. How could Jax not fall in love with him? He’d been blessed with two beautiful souls, and Jax would do everything in his power to keep them safe from any more harm.