I arched a brow when he didn’t elaborate. “And?”

His shoulders fell; he was the image of hopelessness. “And nothing. What everybody says is true – you can’t stop The Call.”

That was not what I’d hoped to hear. More of the little optimism I had left began to fizzle away.

“When did your vampires become tainted?” At least Sam was staying focused. Right then, my spirits were plummeting so fast I could hardly think straight. Most likely sensing that, she reached out and briefly clasped my hand. The energy clinging to her skin buzzed against mine. It was strangely comforting. Using that to centre myself, I swiftly pushed down the dark feelings of anger, pain, and fear that were trying to surface. The last thing I wanted was for Sam to sense them.

“One of my vampires came home with a huge bite,” said Quentin. “He said that he was attacked by another vampire in a town that was miles away from our own. His opinion was that his attacker had been a newborn vampire who was a little undernourished; he’d felt guilty for killing him. We didn’t think it was anything odd as many newborns are kept isolated and weak by their Sires while they get their bloodlust and gift under control.”

He was right about that. It had happened to Sam. “So you just figured that it had been a newborn who escaped his nest?”

“Yes,” replied Quentin. “But my friend’s bite wouldn’t heal. It just kept getting worse. I didn’t know enough about The Call to realise that it was a symptom. It wasn’t until he and some of the others started vomiting that I realised what was happening. By then, it was too late. He’d fed from many vampires within the nest, and they’d fed from others, who’d fed from others, and so and so on – the taint had already spread amongst the nest.” His eyes took on a faraway quality. I knew his mind was back in those tunnels.

“That was when you left?” Sam gently prodded when he failed to continue.

Quentin’s gaze met hers, once again focused. “Yes, the few of us who hadn’t fed from any of the tainted vampires then left and sealed them inside, hoping to find a cure to bring back to them.”

Ava stepped forward. “Did three Sventés escape the tunnels with you?” Salem reached out and tugged her back to his side in a protective move.

Quentin shook his head. “No, I’m sorry.”

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and bowed her head. Salem began rubbing her back at the same time that Cristiano curled an arm around her shoulders. The two males then took to scowling at each other. It was something they did a lot since, according to Sam, Cristiano was very protective of his sister and had never liked other guys being around her.

Returning my attention to Quentin, I said, “It would have been helpful if you had alerted people that The Call had surfaced.”

“I couldn’t risk it. I was worried that people would come and destroy my nest before I’d had a chance to search for some way to save them. Yes, I know history says that there’s no way to fight The Call, but I didn’t want to accept that. I couldn’t.”

That was something I understood all too well. I was still pissed that he hadn’t told anyone, but I could admit to myself that I might have done the same in his position. “This vampire who was the first to become tainted…Did he tell you the exact place that the supposed ‘newborn’ attacked him?”

“If you’re wondering if there are more tainted vampires out there, the answer is yes. I’ve had some people hunting for them in that area, but they haven’t been easy to find.”

Sam frowned. “How can they be difficult to find? I mean, they’re not exactly inconspicuous. Surely the taint should be widespread in that area by now if some are loose in society.”

“Not if the bitten vampires realise they’re tainted in the early stages and then isolate or kill themselves. It is what many tainted vampires have done throughout history to prevent The Call from doing too much damage to the population – and, of course, because they feared attacking those they cared for. My people have found the occasional lone one roaming in that area, but there haven’t been many. Each one they found has been destroyed.”

Well that was good news…Just not the good news that I’d wanted.

His astute gaze landed on me. “Some from The Hollow are tainted,” he guessed. “Antonio?”

I shook my head. “No, he’s fine. But I can’t say the same for my twin brother or some of my squad.”

Quentin’s face softened. “I’m sorry. I understand your pain. My sister was tainted. Trust me when I say that if there was a cure out there, I would have found it. If I were you, I’d end their suffering now.”

“I can’t,” I choked out.

“You’re not prepared to give up. It does you credit. But there really isn’t anything you can do to save them.”

“You cannot fight The Call.” Collins’ voice had me gritting my teeth again.

Butch’s lopsided grin slowly surfaced as he again glared at the prick. “You’d be surprised what we can do.” Such simple words, and yet they carried a dark threat that made Collins audibly gulp and Eloise back away slightly. Yeah, Butch unnerved everyone.

“Give us the exact location where the tainted vampires are loose,” Sam said to Quentin. “We can have a squad from the legion help your people hunt them down.”

He nodded. “I would appreciate the extra help.”

“If you need a place to stay for a”

Quentin shook his head. “Thank you. Really. But I won’t rest until The Call is dormant once more.”

Because that was the only form of revenge for him, I understood. It was the same reason that Ava and Dickhead had stuck around. I knew that if Evan was ever to be killed by anyone or anything, no revenge would ever be good enough for me.

“Do you have the authority to make such a decision, Commander Parker?” Eloise perched a hand on her hip. “You’re a commander” – for now, she didn’t say but it was clear in her voice – “but you do not command the entire legion. Surely such a decision should be for Antonio, and Antonio alone, to make.” I knew that Eloise truly wasn’t concerned about that; she simply wanted to slap down Sam in front of everyone, undermine her authority and embarrass her.

Sam cocked her head. “This makes you happy? Really?” She shook her head, like she pitied Eloise. Her posture almost regal, Sam gave the bitch her back. “Thanks for being so forthcoming, Quentin.” After all, he could have given us the silent treatment for destroying his nest and his home. “Help will be with you soon.” The dismissal of Eloise’s ‘concern’ had the woman turning an amusing shade of purple.

When we returned to The Hollow, Sam and I found Antonio and Luther in one of the parlour rooms, where we recounted the night’s events. They didn’t seem surprised that we hadn’t obtained a lot of helpful information, but they were saddened by it. At Sam’s suggestion, Antonio agreed to arrange for one of the squads to aid Quentin in locating any loose tainted vampires – rolling his eyes at our tale of Eloise’s behaviour.

“No doubt she and Collins will come to see me soon enough to complain about it.” Then he revealed something that neither Sam nor I wanted to hear. “According to the vampires I spoke to from the Prelature, the complaint made about you, Sam, is in fact authentic. I still do not believe that it was made by anyone from your squad. But someone made it. No doubt Collins is enjoying the idea of hurting you, Jared, by upsetting your mate. But he truly believes that the complaint was made by someone from the squad.”

“What about Eloise?” Sam asked from her seat on the sofa facing theirs. “I mean, I know all she and Jared did was bonk on one occasion” – Luther stifled a chuckle – “but it wouldn’t be the first time that someone got a little jealous about my relationship with him.”

Sprawled beside her, I ran a hand through her hair. “If I wasn’t the Heir, they wouldn’t give a shit, baby.”

How many times do I have to tell you that you underestimate your own worth?

I didn’t respond. She’d said this to me over and over, and had also told me that I was wrong in thinking that women had always thought I had no more than a high position and a pretty face to offer. It didn’t matter anyway, because the only person I cared about having anything to offer was Sam. If she was under the illusion that I was all those things, that could only be good.

“But it’s obvious that Eloise would like to put me on a drip of bleach,” continued Sam. “And she’s clearly enjoying all of this. Could she be behind it somehow? Surely she could have made it look like an authentic complaint.”

Antonio pursed his lips. “It’s possible. But I have the feeling that there is more to this.” He paused and exhaled a heavy breath. “On another note, Alora has been in touch.”

Sam and I both looked at each other and groaned. We didn’t need more complications.

“She wishes to come here. She heard from Bran what has happened to Evan, and she wants to see him.”

“You can’t let her.” I shook my head. “Evan made us promise not to let her see him the way he is now.”

“I thought as much, but I was not sure.” After a pause, Antonio added, “She was a mess when I spoke to her by teleconference.”

Luther nodded. “Distraught.”

I wasn’t feeling particularly sympathetic toward her right then. “Yeah, well, she had her chance to be with him and she f**ked it up. Maybe if she hadn’t, he wouldn’t have insisted on going on the assignment and he wouldn’t be dying.”

Sam gave me a pointed look. “Jared, no one’s to blame for what happened to him. Not Alora, not Evan, not you – no one.”

Antonio sighed. “What occurred between Alora and Evan…As she told me in confidence, I cannot repeat the details. But I will say that she had good reason to hold back from him. I would not have entertained her request to see him if that was not true. I care for Evan, and I do not want people around him who would wish to hurt him emotionally or physically. You know that.”

“She simply wants the chance to help find a way to save him,” Luther said carefully, obviously very much aware I wasn’t in the best mood.

Oh hell, no. “Don’t even suggest bringing her in on this. Evan made us promise.”

“He made you promise not to let her see him.” Antonio held up his index finger. “But he did not make you promise not to let her help you.”

Sam tilted her head slightly. “That’s true.”

I twisted to face her, demanding, “Tell me you’re not considering this.”

“I know if it was the other way around and I was her”

“You would never have let me down the way she let Evan down.” For a second, Sam looked surprised by my confidence in her. She even looked touched by it. But that didn’t stop her from continuing to put forward her case, just as I’d known it wouldn’t. Sam never gave up on anything. I admired it even as it annoyed the shit out of me.

“People make mistakes.” Her voice was soft, low. “We’ve both made our fair share. We’ve hurt each other. But we’ve always fixed those mistakes. She wants to fix hers; she wants to help.”

I snorted. “Her gift is to communicate with animals – that’s not going to help us fight The Call.”

“No,” agreed Luther. “But you understand the need to feel as though you are helping, even though it is possible that you cannot.”

“Alora can do that without coming here.”

Sam shook her head at me. “You are so bloody stubborn.”

Was she kidding? “Baby, three words: pot, kettle, black.”

“I’m not stubborn, I’m tenacious – it’s a gift and a curse.”

“It’s a pain in my ass, that’swhat it is. Like earlier when I said”

“Why are you bringing up old shit? You’re always doing it. Like a plunger.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I can’t have this conversation.”

“Thinking has never been your strong point, has it?” She looked at Antonio then. “The pressure gets to him every time.”

You’ll pay for this. I had to battle a smile. She didn’t bother to hide hers.

If you mean you’re going to tie me to the bed again and make me come over and over until I can’t think straight…come and give it to me.

I did. You swallowed it, remember?

Ooh, good one.

Antonio rose from his seat. “I must go now to arrange for a squad to join Quentin Foy’s hunting party. Think on the Alora matter a little more.”

Not interested in having that conversation again, I simply took Sam’s hand in mine and teleported us…to the bottom of the pool – for maybe the third time this week. The subsequent bitch slap wasn’t a surprise.

Chapter Seven

(Sam)

It was the sound of a moan that woke me the next evening. A moan filled with desperation, need, and bliss. I quickly realised that it had come from me. A talented tongue lashed my clit, making another moan slip out. Without opening my eyes, I reached down and threaded my fingers through Jared’s hair, tugging hard. He growled and began what could only be described as a sensual assault – flicking my cl*t with the tip of his tongue, fluttering that tongue through my folds, swirling it inside me, and stabbing me over and over with it. Then he was licking, nibbling, suckling, and sipping. God, he was good.