Chapter 25

Things happened very quickly from the time we arrived. It was a sensory overload to take in, but somehow it processed. Clawd was yanking back Kate, restraining her from tearing her brother off Gory. Draculaura was kneeling beside them, brushing the other vampire's hair off her face, rocking back and forth slightly as she glanced to Rocco, little sobs bursting out every few seconds. Romulus charged into the center of the boys and roughly separated the fight, knocking the three vampires on their backsides and causing Luken and Deugi to stumble back. Clawd yelped, Kate's claws digging into his arms. I dropped down beside Draculaura and pulled off my cloth belt, wrapping it around my hand several times and letting the crystal spread a frosty chill down my arms. I pressed my uncovered hand to her wounds, her hand flashing up to grab my arm before recoiling at the cold. Draculaura touched her face gingerly, giving her someone to take hold of. Her glassy red eyes were darker than they should be. I glanced to Rocco, noting the concern on his face before switching hands and applying pressure to her wounds. The cold had slowed the bleeding significantly.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Romulus thundered. Rocco glanced over his shoulder, flattened his ears and returned his attention to us.

"Get him off her!" Kate shouted at the top of her lungs, "Rocco, get back here!"

He didn't budge. His cheek was bruised, though. I scowled and he spoke very gently, like he didn't want Romulus to hear, "She slapped me. Her friend punched Luken. We weren't gonna fight, but they wanted to."

Draculaura sat in silent shock. I nudged her and she started like she'd been stabbed, staring at me with wide eyes. "If you want to do something, help her."

Gory laughed lightly, her head rolling into Rocco's arm as she did so. She tried to pull herself up, but he didn't let her. Their eyes met for a moment before a light little smile crossed her painted lips, "I doubt little 'Laura would know what to do."

Rocco shifted, pulling up his shirtsleeve with his teeth. Her dark eyes seemed to glisten, flicking down to his wrist before back to his face. "It's okay," he muttered, "I don't like garlic either."

It seemed like enough reassurance for her. She snapped up and sunk her fangs into his wrist. Draculaura nearly fainted. One of the vampires knelt at Gory's side, taking up one side of Rocco. The other crossed behind him. He stiffened, sensing their lack of heat and predatory presence. His eyes snapped up toward me. I edged just a little closer, glancing over at Kate. The close proximity of the other vampires had silenced her, but her claws were ripping into Clawd's forearms. She knew Rocco was feeding Gory, the look of absolute fury in her eyes giving her away. I nudged Draculaura, "Go help Clawd."

Her eyes downcast to her feeding friend and to my surprise, she shook her head. Gory drew back just a bit to growl at her, spurring her to get up and go help. Romulus had paused in chastising the pack to watch Rocco and I. Surrounded by vampires, we must've been quite the sight. My younger friend grew pale, glancing to me in panic. My hand iced over against her stomach. She seemed to feel it, even through the wrapped cloth, removing her fangs from his wounds. Rocco put his wrist to his mouth and thanked me with his eyes. The vampires seemed to converge, then, but Gory attempted to kick the latter two.

"You're both morons," she snapped, wiping the corner of her mouth with her thumb. I slipped my hand from the cloth, allowing her to take it. She glanced to the one nearest to her and he helped her to her feet. Draculaura looked torn between aiding Clawd and aiding Gory, but with the female on her feet, Clawd released Kate. She sprinted to Rocco, threw her arms around him and began snarling protectively. He sighed, lowering his already healed wrist.

"Mikey," Gory murmured to the vampire at her side, "Let's go."

At least one of the others looked slightly guilty, jamming his hands in his pockets. His companion simply produced a cigarette and remained unmoving, the one I guessed had started the fight. Rocco stood and pushed off Kate, glancing back to Romulus. As the duo of vampires started off toward her car, Draculaura started after them. Gory paused and turned, speaking to her like she was speaking to a dog, "No." Lala paused, her innocent eyes wide. "Stay."
"But-" Lala began.
"No," Gory responded, allowing her companion to continue moving.

"Rocco," Romulus called. Obediently, he jogged over to our alpha, leaving Kate on the ground beside the vampires. As if they'd been dismissed, they turned and went off. Apparently, Lala wasn't an authority or a threat, even if I imagined she had more rank than them. She went over to Clawd, opening her purse to remove a cloth and begin dabbing at the healing cuts on his arms. He smiled and drew her in. I offered my hand to Kate, but she didn't take it. Her fierce jade green eyes had muted as if she'd been hurt too. I let my hand fall as Romulus walked up, the stern determination in his expression making him appear several years more mature than he seemed at the dinner table not long ago. He rested his hand on her shoulder and she seemed to reanimate, snapping to her feet and striking out. He caught both of her wrists at once, their eyes locking in a silent battle for dominance. Her scowl deepened, lips pulling back a bit to bare her sharp teeth. He growled, low in his chest, shaking her slightly. Her ears flattened, but she didn't whimper the way her brother would've. She recoiled her arms with the force of a cracking whip, glaring at Romulus before turning her infuriated gaze to me, "You're perfect for each other." She started out of the park without looking back at her brother, knowing he would follow her lead.

"Kate," he half-growled, taking a step after her. She whipped around, the fury seeming to double, "You're not in control of me, Rom! You might be the alpha, but I have a mind! You can't change me, especially not toward them!"

"Hurting them is not going to change what happened!" he shouted after her.

"Fuck you!" She turned on her heel sharply once again and sprinted off down the street. Surprisingly, Rocco didn't follow. He stayed back with the pack, looking at the ground like he expected to be yelled at too.

"Rocco, go home," Romulus began without missing a beat. He pretended Kate's outburst had never happened, and I wasn't sure if I admired it or questioned it. "Luken, Deugi...if you're not gonna follow my example, you're not going to be in my pack."

"Someone needs to kick you off your high horse, Rom," Deugi replied, "Cause you're an alpha, not a king."

"I'm keeping you from getting killed. If I didn't care, I wouldn't break up a fight that you were going to lose." Romulus glanced to Clawd and nodded once in a silent thanks. Clawd quirked his head a bit in acknowledgement, keeping Draculaura looped under his arm. Her head rested against his chest, tracing the healing cuts with a fingertip.

"If ya didn't notice, she was their leader and we had her," Luken replied for Deugi.

"And if you didn't notice, she has a mate. A mate that would've found out and will anyway. No doubt he'll be pissed."

"We took care of it once," Deugi said with a shrug. My hands were burning. I wanted to knock them both out. Romulus grabbed him by his collar and snarled, "Then the first girlfriend you get, I'm going to treat you and her the same way you're treating them."

"You wanna talk about traitors to the pack?" Luken snarled, "You're treating us like crap over the bloodsuckers."

"He is doing what is right for all, not you," I replied. They both looked at me as if they remembered my presence. "You are not just pack, Clawd is pack too. Draculaura. You think you are so high and mighty because you come from old place, you think you matter more than everybody else..." I closed the distance and rested a freezing hand against Luken's chest, watching as his eyes narrowed in pain at the spreading frost. "You feel burn of cold too. Until you prove to me you better, you not. Romulus understand what best for you. He understand what right and fair. When you want to act like civilized man, you come back. Until then, you go home. Think about what a horse behind you are being."

I had never seen Romulus look so proud. He beamed, letting my words sink in to the boys before reaching out and grasping my frosty hand. He didn't wince in pain as Luken and Gory had, instead it felt as if he balanced me. The crystal dimmed instantly as if it knew. "Kate was right."

...

Bram's attention was completely devoted to his sweetheart as he tended to her wounds. On the level below, Michael unpacked the blood she'd brought with her, quiet enough to be forgotten. His lips pressed gently to her forehead, her arms wrapped around his neck. She swallowed thickly, wincing at the sting of the gauze being pressed to her stomach. "We match," she teased, attempting to lighten his mood with humor. When he didn't respond, she brushed her fingers through his hair, "Close your eyes and remember everything is going to be okay. I love you."

"What were you thinking?" he responded quickly, "What the hell made getting involved in their fight okay in your twisted mind?"

She sighed, "You said we didn't want a fight, I was stopping Charles from giving us one. It obviously didn't go as planned." He gently wound the bandages around her torso, ripping them and tucking them in between the others. The silence practically hurt her ears. He returned her sigh with one of his own, gently grasping her chin and tilting her face upward to meet his gaze, "I care about your feelings more than mine. If you want it to be okay...it'll be okay."

"It is okay," she murmured, smiling slightly, "I have to admit, for someone we thought had no civilized life, the yeti did a good job fixing me up. Maybe we should've let her see you."

He rolled his eyes and nuzzled his cheek against the top of her head, his arms winding gently around her back, "I think I'll keep you for my nurse. Sleeping helped."

She smiled lightly, hardly even starting when she heard the door burst open and light, clicking steps race upstairs, "Gory?!"

"That girl..." Bram muttered, pressing his lips to the top of her head. With a small sigh, she called out, "In here!"

Draculaura burst into the bedroom and stopped, immediately flushing several layers of pink. "I...I'm sorry...I thought..."

"You didn't interrupt," Gory replied, toying with the collar of his open shirt, "It's not like there isn't anything you haven't seen."

Lala glanced at the floor. Gently guiding her sweetheart to follow, Gory returned to the main room and lifted her torn corset, sighing as she glanced to Draculaura, "Is your wolf friend a decent seamstress?"

She nodded, hardly looking up.

"Oh quit being so shy! I'm decent! Or maybe the guilt's just eating you alive of never telling your precious boyfriend about us."

Her cheeks reddened even farther, but Draculaura's gaze lifted. She stared at the bandages and frowned, her lips quirking at the corners in an attempt to smile. Gory produced a different shirt and slipped it on over the bandages and brasserie, her gaze never once leaving her companion's face. "Go home to him, 'Laura."

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," she replied, her red cheeks fading, "Bram too."

He nodded slightly, perching on the edge of the bed and opening his arms for his sweetheart to climb into them. She did without missing a beat, draping his arms gently across her wounded stomach. They were picturesque, the living ideal of what a perfect couple should be. Draculaura nodded once and murmured, "Call if you need anything, okay?"

"Of course," Gory replied, tossing a glance over her shoulder, "And let Michael know he's allowed to come up. He's being quiet as a mouse."

She nodded once and slipped from the room without another word. Descending the stairs with equal quietness, Draculaura popped in the kitchen to deliver the message from the lady of the house before exiting the way she'd come, and leaving her secrets lingering in the Devein manor where they originated.