The Guardian
Guardian
“The Tenebris kingdom fell.” King Ivan paced around the war room, obviously unnerved. This wasn’t a place I spent a lot of time in before, so being asked to come was troubling. “From everything I hear, it was a slaughter.”
“Erlik’s army isn’t that strong.” I was terrified by what I was hearing. The Tenebris army was stronger than the Strzygi. They had more warriors, weapons, and pride. How did they lose to one of the most disorganized armies history has ever seen?
“And the rumor is that half of the Strzygi were taken out before that victory. The few people who did make it out reported that Erlik, Vasyli, and Wilson weren’t present. They sent the army in to get slaughtered, and half of them did.” I saw the anger growing inside of Ivan. A king, prince, and lead warrior who did not join their army was cowardly. Or they were staying behind, knowing our army would be more challenging to beat, so they couldn’t risk not making it out.
“There is some other force in play here.” Queen Adalinda took both of my hands in hers. “We don’t know what it is yet, and I fear for the kingdom’s future. We need you to take Prince Ivan somewhere safe to ensure the Nykos bloodline continues.”
“We transferred the power of the kingdom to him this morning. If we perish, Erlik won’t get what he is after.” I’m not the most knowledgeable vampire of the kingdom’s rules. Especially those that are of a supernatural nature. Transferring power before the heir has his mate, and their mate has at least fallen pregnant, requires an outside power source and extra painful rituals. It could kill the future king if he is not strong enough. Their willingness to take that risk said a lot about their confidence in surviving this.
“Why me?” They had to be out of their damn minds. I didn’t know a damn thing about children, and he was not even two years old yet. I think that meant he was still in diapers. See? Completely clueless, “Shouldn’t you get one of the women to go? Not to be sexist, but I don’t know anything about children, Your Majesties.”
“That is part of your appeal.” Ivan had no patience left as he practically snarled at me. The amount of stress he was under was killing him.
“Wait, what?”
“What Ivan means is that if we send him with one of his nannies, they won’t survive if caught.”
“I’m not even a born vampire.” Some asshole turned me by accident and left me in the back of a club. I signed up to fuck him, and I was never able to go home again. For a long time, I lived in the werewolf underground. They had the best blood, and enough vampires were around to help me understand what had happened and keep me from going rogue. Years later, one of the Nykos warriors found me living there and took a liking to me. That warrior’s name was Wesley, and he told me that I was his mate. Having a mate made so many things more manageable. His blood was the best I have ever had, and I needed so much less of it. The starvation pains were further apart, and I felt like a real person again. He taught me more about what it meant to be a vampire than I learned on the streets, and he invited me to move into the palace with him. I discovered he was high up in the ranks when I got here. That is how I knew the royal couple so well and why they trusted me with their son. There was only one warrior ahead of him in line to lead, so I knew that if I left, I was going to be leaving alone.
“That’s another bonus. You’ll blend in better.” At the risk of sounding like I was bragging, King Ivan couldn’t be more wrong. I was a six-foot-two homosexual vampire made of solid muscle and wore eyeliner. Blending was not something I was good at. Queen Adalinda saw the concern on my face, so she explained.
“A vampire infant with a vampire-born nanny? Very suspicious.” She was right. Almost all blood-born vampires belong to one of the kingdoms. If the Nykos and Tenebris kingdoms are gone, finding an infant outside the Strzygi kingdom would be suspect, and someone would investigate. A turned vampire such as myself carrying an infant around? It would look like we were both turned by accident, and no one would bat an eye other than to pity us.
“We trust you’ll do this. Keep him safe. You know about the human world since you have lived in it for so long. We need you as far away from all of this as possible.” The human world. King Ivan did not understand how much I tried to forget the world I lost, but how could I say no to this?
“Wes knows about this, doesn’t he?” Our bond broke last night, and he was conveniently too busy in the war room to come home. He told me we would take care of it in a few days. I hadn’t picked up on the lie.
My mate was not good with his emotions. He was a proud, manly type who struggled with who he was for a long time. In his defense, he was hundreds of years old. In his time, it was a capital crime to be a homosexual. I’m not sure I blamed him for being more reserved than I was, as I was in my twenties when I turned.
“He does,” Queen Adalinda said, hugging me. “It’s a bonus to him that you are safe.”
“I need to speak to him before I go, but I will go if this is the way that best serves the kingdom.” My words were mechanical. The military attitude had rubbed off on me. The best way I could show how much I loved Wes was to do this.
“Thank you.” Ivan handed me a folder with a bunch of paperwork. “There’s bank account information in there for you. It should be enough for his upkeep and yours until he’s eighteen. Probably longer if you are careful and the stock market stays steady.”
“I’ll make sure he’s taken care of. I promise.” I only then noticed a duffel bag in the corner of the room that I knew was mine and a diaper bag with things a baby needs.
“There’s also keys to an apartment in the city.” King Ivan added.
“If things get really bad, go see Alpha-King Liam.” I was surprised that Queen Adalinda mentioned the alpha-king. Wolves and vampires were not close at that level. Sure, in the dark, there was blood sharing, fucking, and dealings. Out in the open, those things would never happen.
“Why aren’t we doing that now?”
“That is complicated.” Adalinda looked at her mate, not sure if she should answer my question.
“There isn’t enough time for that, but he won’t turn you away. We were friends, for lack of a better way to put it. He won’t hold our mistakes against baby Ivan. Not when Erlik is the reason he needs help. They are very far from friends.” I loved the riddles of the royal family.
“There is a car out by the road as well. Make sure you use the car seat.” This all happened way too fast. I didn’t know how to handle that aspect of it. Taking him away was the right thing to do, but going alone in the middle of the night was hard.
Wes was standing in the courtyard while Adalinda and Ivan said goodbye to their son. I saw the pain written on his face, and he hugged me tightly, face buried in my neck and tears staining my shirt.
“I love you, TB.” He whispered, kissing my neck lovingly. Teddy Bear. His nickname for me. TB for short. I wish I had a recording of him calling me that.
“I love you, too, Wes.” I wouldn’t ask him why he wasn’t coming with me. The loyalty to his men was too strong. He saw him staying as what was right for the greater good. My not being here was all he needed to be at peace with that. “I never would have survived with you.”
“Nah, you didn’t need me. You just think you did.” He kissed my lips softly.
“Even if I didn’t need you, I want you. Still do.”
“If we don’t survive this, I want you to be happy. Whatever that means. Don’t sit around and cry for me. I’ve had more than three hundred years. That’s more than most. These last years were among the best.”
“How do I live that long without you?” It didn’t seem fair. I didn’t want to experience that much time knowing he was gone to what he called the underworld. And not being a born vampire, would I go there? Did it exist at all?
“You’ll find someone who loves you. I never believed in fated mates before I met you. No one else even came close.” I knew of fated mates, and he called me that often. I’m not sure I understood how to identify them the way Wes did, but if I had to guess, Wes was mine. “One day, you’ll get your trials. Have your second chance.”
“Even if I did, he wouldn’t be you.” The idea of fighting Hades was comical. I wouldn’t know where to start.
“Or she.” I rolled my eyes, laughing at him.
“Hades, take me now.” I didn’t hate women and had been with a few, but it wasn’t my preference.
“And if things go well, my mark will be right here again.” He kissed that spot that was always dangerously sensitive.
“I’ll leave it open for you.”
“If not, take this.” He pulled off the chain he wore around his neck. It had some religious pendant on it that I never quite understood. All the warriors here wore it, believing it kept them safe.
“Don’t you need it? You’re at greater risk here.”
“Never believed that all that much. The men would not like it if I didn’t wear it. We have plenty more of them around. This one, though, was my father’s. Keep it safe for me? He’ll watch over you, and if I leave this realm, so will I.”
“Of course.” I put on a brave face as Adalinda carried Ivan over to me, tears running down her face.
“I’ll never be able to repay you or thank you enough.” The way Ivan cried when his mother kissed him goodbye for the last time in the courtyard was the most heartbreaking sound I had heard in a very long time. I had to pry him out of her arms, and he fought me the whole way to the kingdom’s exit, trying to get free to return to her. That woman was one of the bravest women I think I had ever encountered. Knowing I might never see her, King Ivan, or, worst of all, Wes again was a weight that almost made me stop breathing. For Prince Ivan, for the Nykos kingdom, I forced air into my lunch and left.
It was only weeks later that I found out that Wes was gone. I felt him go, and it was painful for such a long time. That pain was what confirmed for me that he was my fated mate.
Now I was without my mate, alone in an apartment with a little boy who cried hysterically at least once a day for his mother and father that he felt die. I usually joined him in these crying sessions. Over time, I became numb to it and returned to my old habits in the werewolf underground. Werewolves had the best blood, drugs and were crazy good in the sack. As much as I wanted to be a father figure, I just wasn’t. To compensate, I hired tutors, nannies, and maids. Any and everyone to make sure he got the education and care he needed. We talked in the evenings, and I was there whenever he needed me, but we were friends in the same way your assigned college roommate became your friend. Our age difference wasn’t the problem. We were completely different people with one painful thing in common. Trauma bonding is real, but it can also make you distant. We were somewhere in the middle.
