Love Bite - 5. Chapter 5

Damon’s POV

We had been in the air maybe twenty minutes before Tyler laid back in his seat and fell asleep. I was glad I owned my own aircraft so no one else could see him in this vulnerable state. He looked sexy as hell since he changed clothes while we were waiting to take off. His jeans hugged him nicely around his hips and cute bubble butt. They stretched across his massive thighs and left little to the imagination as to what he had for equipment. I missed seeing him in the t-shirt I had given him, because it showed off his muscles nicely; the one he changed into didn’t show them off as much.

I decided it would be best if I got some sleep as well; I just hoped it would be a peaceful sleep. I drifted off to dreams of Nique and Tyler; what our lives would have been like had they not murdered Nique. I felt so hopeless because I couldn’t save her and that came across in my dream. I dreamt of Spencer killing Tyler before I could get to him and being left alone to live my life without my sister or my beloved.

I startled myself awake with a scream. When I looked around the room it was pitch black, but I could see the outline of Tyler lying next to me. He was stirring in his sleep and seemed to be waking up.

“You ok, Damon,” he asked when he rolled over to face me.

“Yeah, just a bad dream. Go back to sleep, love.” He pulled me into his lap and I curled into him with my head resting on his chest. I was not used to showing weakness to anyone except Nique, but I knew I would be fine doing it with him.

***

I woke refreshed as the plane started to descend and realized we were almost to the airport in Cardiff, Wales. It felt weird going home without Nique and I knew it would take time for me to accept the loss of my sister.

I lifted my head off Tyler's chest and saw him watching me. “Did you sleep ok?” he asked.

“I slept better than I thought I would. You’re quite comfy,” I chuckled as I quickly shifted to my own seat and buckled up. “I wasn’t too heavy for you was I?”

“Nah, you were fine.” He looked out the window. “What’s Wales like?”

“I don’t know how to best describe it because it's different for each person. The part we’re going to is in the countryside and it's a beautiful site to see; to me anyway.”

The plane touched down with a soft thump of the tires. After a couple of minutes the plane came to a rolling stop. When the fasten seatbelt light went off we unbuckled and stood up. I heard the undercarriage where our luggage was stored open, as the flight attendant unlocked the door and the steps slid into place so we could exit the craft.

I led the way down the stairs as our rental car was driven up to the plane; it was nice to be rich. Tyler reached out and grabbed my hand as we walked to the car. It felt weird to be holding hands with a man in public, but it also felt so right. I still wasn’t sure about having a guy for my beloved, but I wasn’t about to give him up simply because of his gender.

As I signed the paperwork, our luggage was loaded into the car so we could be on our way quickly. I opened the door for Tyler and shut it after he had climbed in. I jogged around the hood of the car to slip into the driver’s seat.

***

We pulled into my country home and I was hit with memories of being there with Domonique. I knew it would be hard, but it was something that had to be done. I would eventually sell the house and move to create a home with Tyler, along with some new memories.

“Alright, this is home for now. I don’t know how long we’ll be here, but however long we’re here we’ll make the most of it. I know I want to put the house on the market and find a new one for us.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

“I want us to find a house that we both like and that fits our personalities. This house was purchased about thirty years ago and has been ‘handed down’ to me and Domonique. I have a feeling you might want to redecorate if we keep this house.”

“Why would you say that?” he asked as we got out of the car and took our bags out of the boot.

“Well, the house is full of antiques.”

I led the way to the front door and fumbled with the keys before I finally found the right one. I opened the door and stepped to the side to let Tyler enter first. He walked in the door and stopped right inside the door. He set his bags down and turned in a circle looking around the foyer.

“I like antiques but maybe we can compromise, because I don’t think every piece of furniture should be one.”

I stepped into the house behind him and said, “I can live with that. Why don’t we get settled, then we can go through the house and determine what we like and what should change?”

“Lead the way. Maybe we can also look at listings, if you don’t want to keep to keep this house. I completely understand the need to start fresh and move away from memories.”

I led the way up the stairs to the master bedroom where we would be sleeping. We walked into a dark burgundy room with cream carpets. He stopped right inside the door and looked around. I hoped he would like my California king size four poster bed because this was my favorite of all my beds in all my houses.

“Wow, I thought your room in Seattle was dark, but it’s beautiful all the same.” He set his suitcases on the floor and walked over to the bed; I laughed when he jumped on it. He looked good in it and it made me smile to see him like this. When Nique died I never thought I would be able to smile again.

“Glad you like the bed,” I chuckled.

“I absolutely love it. I’m able to fit in it comfortably.”

“I absolutely love this bed. If I could move it to each house I would.”

“Why don’t you buy one to put in each home?”

“Well, until a few years ago, this was our main residence. I didn’t see the need to put one in every house, but it's definitely something I will think about.” I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed with a sigh.

Tyler moved to sit next to me. “You ok?” he asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I didn’t realize how hard it would hit me being here without Nique.” I leaned my head on his shoulder. With him I felt like I could and he wouldn’t think of me any differently for showing weakness.

“I never knew my grandparents, so I’ve never lost anyone I was really close to before. I can’t imagine what it must be like for you to lose her after 100 some odd years. I would be lost without my brothers; they’re my port in a storm. I know I can’t replace her and I would never try to, but I’m here for you if you’ll let me be.”

“Thanks, love. I know you won’t try to take her place, but you’re just as important to me as she was, if not more so.” I patted his thigh and simply rested against him.

We stayed like that for several minutes before I sat up and said, “Let’s get our clothes put away and I will show you around the house. We could do an inventory of all the furniture, plus art work, and determine what to sell and what to keep. I’m not looking forward to it, but we need to go through Nique’s room. I plan to donate all her clothes, but she does have some jewelry we can sell.”

“Dame, we don’t have to do it all today-“

“I know we don’t, but it won’t get any easier if we wait to do it either. I want to feel productive and I need the closure it will bring.”

“Ok, I will stand by your choice. Can I make a suggestion though?”

“Sure love, what’s on your mind?”

“Well, we can go through, inventory the furniture and art work, but instead of determining what to sell now, we wait and do that after we have found the house we’re gonna buy.”

“That’s a smart plan. While you’re putting your things away I will call my realtor. We can list this house and then see what they have that’s for sale. Is in the country ok with you? I love the openness that comes with it. It allows me to see if anyone’s coming from any side.”

“I’m a bear, of course I love the country. Anything that would give me the space to run in my bear form will be perfect.”

“Sounds good. Now I’m going to go make some calls. I’ll leave you to unpack.” I went over to the closet and opened it. I showed him where he could hang his stuff and the drawers where he could put his other things.

***

I sat behind my desk and thought back to something Spencer had said. ‘It pays to have a source inside the Council.’ I wondered who it could possibly be. I was brought out of my thoughts by the ringing of my cellphone.

“Arthen,” I said once I answered.

“Rhys, its Elder Stephen. How are you today?”

“Elder Stephen, to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?” I was highly suspicious now of everyone in the Elder Council.

“I was calling in regards to your beloved. Since you and Gwynydd are as close as siblings and you turned her, the sibling feeling you share is intensified. It’s as if you really are twins. My suggestion would be to let Gwynydd claim him, then you can claim a human and turn her; that way you won’t have to share a beloved.”

“I will not diminish my bond with him like that.”

“But surely you don’t want to share him either. Besides, are you even gay? I mean over the years you’ve only ever dated women.”

“It does not matter. Tyler is my beloved and I will not dishonor him.”

“What does Gwynydd say?”

“There’s not much she can say about it. You see I was going to call you about Spencer attacking us in our home two nights ago.”

“Why didn’t you call me right away? Is everyone ok?”

“I sort of had other things on my mind since then and no, everyone is not ok,” I snarled.

“Mind your manners Rhys; there’s no need for the attitude,” he snapped.

“Who did you tell about our beloved?” I demanded.

“Tom and Elijah; they helped me do some research. Oh, and Wendy, my assistant. Why do you ask?”

“Well, according to Spencer you have a leak. He went straight for my beloved and told me if I don’t take care of the abomination, he will.”

“There are no Spencer follower’s inside the Council! How dare you imply otherwise!”

“I’m simply telling you what he said and how it appears that because you were the only one I told about finding my beloved and a few days later we were attacked.”

“Calm down Rhys. Now tell me why’d he call him an abomination?”

“Because he’s a were-bear. And before you say anything, it makes no difference to me.”

“We don’t know how the transition will affect other supernaturals. It’s not wise to try to turn him,” he cautioned me.

“Too late. Gwynydd and I started the transition shortly after we met him.”

“He made it through the transition?” I could hear the amazement in his voice.

“Yes, and no you won’t be doing any testing on him, so don’t even ask.”

“Alright; did you and Gwynydd both mark him?”

“Yes, and he fed from both of us. He also marked both of us as well.”

“So the mating is complete?”

“No, only the bond.” His questions made me nervous; they made me even more suspicious than I already was that he might be the possible leak.

“I would hold off on completing the mating until I can do some research.”

“You do the research, no one else.”

“Sure, sure. I’m going to go to the tombs to look this up.” I heard the phone click in my ear. All of a sudden I wasn’t as confident that we were safe there.

Tyler’s POV

Damon left me in the bedroom and I threw my suitcases on the bed to start unpacking. I looked down at the ring she had given me and I still had a dull ache in my heart that had been left from the death of Nique. I knew it would never go away, but it would ease over time. It would simply take a while.

It didn’t take me long to finish unpacking and I was at a loss for what to do. I noticed a floor to ceiling window and stood in front of it to look out, while wishing for my family back home. Don’t get me wrong, my place is with my mate but I missed my family; especially my brother Jon whom I was closest to. I would’ve liked to say goodbye to him, but I understood we needed to leave quickly.

My phone beeped as it signaled a text message had come in. I was grateful my dad had gotten all of us the international plan on our phones because of all Jon’s traveling. It allowed my phone to still work here in Wales, as well as in the U.S. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was from Jon.

“Where are you? Mom won’t tell Dad anything! Alex said you’re with your mate, but where are you?”

“It’s not a good time to get into this right now. Will explain everything later. I’m safe, so don’t worry about me. I’ll call you when I can. Take care of Tim and the little bundle of joy that was just born. Keep your family safe.”

I had just set my phone down when it started to ring. It was Jon! I wanted to talk to him, but I didn’t want to bring us trouble either, so I let it go to voicemail. I would talk to Damon about this later when I got downstairs. My phone beeped letting me know Jon had left a message. I sighed and decided it was time to go find Damon; I would listen to the message later.

When I got downstairs I could hear Damon on the phone, but by the time I made it to his office he had hung up. He had his head in his hands but looked up when I entered the room.

“Everything ok, Damon?”

“Yeah, just some business with the Council. I have a feeling we may not be safe here, but I’m at the point where I want this ended, because I will be damned if we will spend the rest of eternity running from Spencer.”

“I will fight by your side no matter when it happens, but I hope it isn’t soon because you still need to process Nique’s death completely.”

“I know,” he sighed before he continued, “now let’s go through and make our inventory of everything in the house.” He grabbed a pad of paper with a pen before he stood and walked around his desk to where I was.

***

We worked our way through the house making a list of everything that was there. About halfway through, there were only a few things I knew for sure I wanted to go to the new house, but the rest would depend on the house. I hoped we would be able to go a more modern style, but if not I would be ok with most of the antiques.

“Damon, I have a question.”

“Ok. I’ll try to answer it the best I can. What would you like to know?”

“Can I talk to my family?”

His face had a look of shock. “Of course you can talk to your family. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression you wouldn’t be able to talk to them.”

“I needed to make sure, because I didn’t want to create any problems.”

“No, call your family; I’m sure they’re worried about you.”

“Thanks, babe. I’m gonna go return my brother’s call from earlier. I know he’s probably freaking out by now.”

“Go make your call. I’m going to be in my office talking to the realtor. Come find me when you’re done and we can look at their website for a possible new house for us.” He seemed to hesitate before he pulled me into a side hug.

“Sounds like a plan.” I leaned over and kissed him on the side of his head.

He walked me through the kitchen to the back deck and left me once I had settled in one of the wooden deck chairs. He took a second to kiss me on the cheek first, before turning and heading back into the house. “Come find me when you’re done. Link me if you see anything weird or what you think is out of place.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and said, “Will do.” I heard the sliding door close behind me.

I decided to skip listening to the message because I knew it would be Jon yelling at me for not answering the phone. I pulled his name up in my contact list and took a deep breath before I hit the send button to connect the call.

“It’s about time you called me back!” yelled Jon as soon as he answered the phone.

“I had to make sure it was safe for me to call-“

“No, you don’t get to talk yet. Do you know how worried we are right now? Obviously you don’t, otherwise you would’ve picked up the phone when I called a few hours ago and not let it go to voicemail. Not only are our parents worried, but so are your brothers and yes, that includes Tim.” I could hear the anger and worry in his voice, which made me feel horrible about the lack of communication.

“Can I speak now?”

“Yeah; but it’d better be good.”

“Well, as you know I’ve met my mate and his name is Damon. Mom’s pissed because he’s a vampire-”

“Wait, your mate is a bloodsucker?”

“- but what she doesn’t know is that I actually had two mates, the other one was a female; her name was Domonique.”

“What do you mean was?”

“If you would quit interrupting me I would tell you.”

“Alright, I’m sorry. Please go on.”

I sighed before I continued. “I was at the estate auction in Seattle when I was grabbed and pulled out of the building. The guy who’d grabbed me was really strong and I couldn’t get out of his grasp. We were met in the parking lot by a stunning woman and they began to argue about whose beloved I was.

We got back to their house and he went to make a phone call while I had a screaming match with her. I seriously thought about rejecting them because they’d kidnapped me, but after he returned we came to an agreement. Damon didn’t seem thrilled that I was his beloved or that he had to share one, but Domonique showed me up to what would become my room. Once I was alone, I did some thinking.

I wasn’t sure why I had been given two mates at the same time and I knew they were vampires. While I wasn’t happy about it, I decided I wouldn’t reject them. We were put together for a reason.

They were worried about something from their past showing up and wanted to protect me, so we decided to mark each other, which would give us a telepathic link should we get separated. During the marking process, I was turned. I don’t know what happened the three days I was unconscious, but I woke to Damon and a guy named Spencer arguing in the same room where I was resting in. Spencer made a comment about me being an abomination and said if Damon didn’t get rid of me then he would. Next thing I knew, Spencer jumped out the bedroom window and disappeared.”

I heard a growl on the other end of the phone before Jon said, “You’re ok though, right?”

“Yes, I’m fine. When Spencer showed up he had some men with him that attacked and Domonique was killed during the fight. We knew that location was no longer safe, so we went to Mom and Dad’s house to get my clothes before we left the country.”

“What is this Spencer guy’s issue with your mate?”

“Apparently many years ago there was a fight and Domonique killed Spencer’s beloved.”

“Yeah, that would make me want to kill someone too. Do you know what the fight was about?”

“No, we haven’t had a chance to talk about it, but I was told it was a kill or be killed situation.”

“How old is he?”

“Over 100, but not sure by how much. Good thing is, he looks to be my age and not like some creepy older guy,” I chuckled.

I heard Jon chuckle on the other end and knew he wasn’t mad at me any longer. Unhappy about the potential danger especially with me being so far away from him and our family, yes, but not mad. But, he had Tim and knew he’d never have left him once they’d met, even if someone or something were after Tim. He had questions and I knew I had the same questions, but I knew it would come as I got to know my beloved.