Quentin reluctantly stepped out of Jaks’s hold.The man speaking now looked old for a vampire.How many centuries did you need to appear aged in vampire years?
“Yes.He admitted as much, and I heard her on the phone.”
The five council members who didn’t introduce themselves to Quentin did some sort of silent communication through facial expressions and hand gestures.They were no doubt telepathically communicating.
“Should we be worried?”he whispered to Jaks.
“No, it’ll be fine.”His lover’s relaxed state surprised him.
“What have you been doing here?”
“Bragging about you.”Jaks kissed Quentin’s forehead.“They wanted an update about the state of my coven, something they do whenever there is a change of leadership.”
“Then why was I told that they had captured you?”Quentin scowled at his grinning lover.
Jaks grinned.“Would you have come for a council meet and greet?”
Quentin crossed his arms over his chest.“Maybe.”He was going to pinch Glenn.
“Do you think he’d start a war to get his hands on your house?”one of the male council members interrupted their conversation to ask.
“I wouldn’t have thought so.I mean, it is a powerful vortex, but I’m not certain what a vampire can do with it.”
“That’s true,” the vampire, whom Quentin mentally titled ‘old guy’, interjected.“Unless he has a magic user to help him.”
All five pairs of eyes turned to stare at him.
“Don’t look at me.I’m not going to help him.”
Jaks wrapped his arms around Quentin.“What if he offered you your mom back?”
He didn’t respond right away.He thought it over.He knew the correct answer would be a resounding no, but there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for this mother.“No,” he said at last.“My mother would be upset if I compromised my principles to save her.”
“Good answer,” the younger female vampire said.“We grant you permission to invade Nikko’s land for the purposes of rescuing your mother.”
“Thank you.”He tried to remain respectful, even though they all probably knew from his behavior that he would be going one way or another.
He turned his attention to Jaks.“Grevin is going to meet us there.”
“Were you so certain we would give permission?”the oldest vampire sneered.
“No,” Quentin replied.He kissed Jaks on the cheek, then walked out of the boardroom.Jaks’s laughter followed him back to the elevator.
“Coming, Darling,” Jaks called out.
“You’ve got balls,” Andrea whispered.“Big ones.”
“And they’re all mine,” Jaks said, stepping into the elevator to join them, his eyes glowing with power.
CHAPTER17
By the time they reached the edge of the forest, a small army had assembled.
“She might not have been a vampire for long, but she is one of ours,” Jaks explained.
After years of being a lonely single parent, his mother deserved a close-knit community even if they were blood-drinkers.
“How do you want to do this?”he asked Jaks.
