A Final Paige (Hidden Kingdom Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  “Who’s blood, Dad?” Ezra asked, his voice low and annoyed.

  A member of our family calling Satan “Dad” was something I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to.

  “Your mother’s grandmother was of a mixed breed. She was a seer, a witch, and also… a unicorn shifter.”

  My eyes widened as shock swept through me. I met Ezra’s equally surprised gaze.

  Paige asked, “What am I missing?”

  “I’m guessing the men are looking at each other in shock?” Lucifer commented.

  “Yes.”

  “It’s because, my dear, unicorns—whether purebred or mixed race—have been extinct for centuries. Their blood called to newly turned vampires. It was like a drug for them. They fed and fed until the victim died, and then the vampire usually died soon after as well from ingesting too much unicorn blood.”

  “Why?”

  “Unicorns are as humans have made them out to be, magical. They’re made of light and all that is good. Too much of their blood, for ones as dark as vampires, kills them.”

  Paige’s gaze shot to us. “Aggie—”

  “I believe she did not take enough to harm her. However, have her master feed her his blood, and since it was a small amount, it should counteract the diluted amount of unicorn blood Azrael has.”

  “Why wouldn’t Ezra’s blood call to older vampires since their senses grow with age?”

  “For about two weeks, a fledgling’s senses are stronger than even the oldest master vampire. Until they have themselves under control and their senses settle, they will be a risk for our son.”

  Paige glared down at the phone, slightly offended Lucifer felt he needed to warn us. “We’ll keep him away from any new vampire.”

  “Or if we happen upon any, we will protect him with our life,” I said.

  Ezra’s gaze warmed on both of us. “I can also make sure I protect myself more.”

  “Yes, you will,” Paige said.

  “I know you’re in good hands, son. Which is why I’m not there dragging you back to Hell. Now, as for the other matter, I believe it would be for the best if the truth came out also. I have trust in your family, son. I know they will protect you, and you will do everything you can to make sure they’re safe too. However, it would still be wise to have extra protection. I’ll be sending Xi to you.”

  “Dad—”

  “No, he is skilled in all areas. As I said, it’s not because I think any of you are incapable, but it would ease mine and your mother’s heart if you allow us this. Not only for you, son, but for your mates.”

  There, right then, when Lucifer mentioned Ezra’s mates, I knew the devil had won the argument.

  “Fine,” Ezra bit out.

  “Thank you, son. Speak soon and stay safe, or else there’ll be hell to pay,” he said on a laugh and then hung up. Ezra passed me the phone back, and I put it in my pocket before I hid my smile behind a cough and turned my back to them for a moment. Lucky I had, else I would have attacked the man appearing out of nowhere.

  Xi, who Paige described as looking like the male actor Jason Statham—not that I knew who he was—stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

  “Xi,” I said.

  He tipped his chin as Paige turned, and then he said, “Queen, ghoul, and young master.”

  “Thank you for coming to assist us, Xi,” Paige said, her lips twitching at Xi’s robotic tone and serious expression. “And please call us by our names. Paige, Thorn, and Ezra.” Paige winced. “I mean—”

  “Ezra,” Ezra said with a smile and a wink. “Always Ezra.”

  “As you require.” He tipped his chin down again. “If you do not mind, I would like to wander the area to make sure things are safe.”

  “That’s fine,” Paige said. “Thank you.”

  His brows dipped before he bowed and walked out of the room.

  Paige spun to Ezra. “Is he always like this?”

  “As far as I know. I was never around him much. But I know his family has been working with ours for many decades. He’s the best fighter Dad has. Xi would never betray him, and he would do everything in his power to follow through with Dad’s orders because Dad saved Xi’s and Xi’s father’s life.”

  “That’s, well, sweet,” Paige said.

  It was, but knowing Lucifer, there would be a reason why he saved them. Maybe it had something to do with gaining a loyal guard in Xi.

  “I suppose,” Ezra replied. He ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up everywhere. I wanted to reach over and feel how soft it was myself. However, we still had a lot to do.

  “Sweetheart, I’m going to Alex’s room to let them know we’ll need to transfer Yasmin to another wing of the castle and let them know everything that’s happened.”

  “Thank you. I’ll speak with Gregory about sending notice out regarding Ezra.”

  “You don’t want to hold court for it?”

  She pulled her bottom lip in and bit down on it. A sense of unease shot from her. I wanted to hit myself in the head. Of course she wouldn’t want to hold court regarding Ezra, because the last time Ezra had been in that room, he’d died.

  “Forget I said anything, sweetheart,” I said softly, taking her hand and leaning down to kiss her temple. “Contact Gregory, and I’ll be back soon. I’ll also come back with news of Yasmin.”

  “That would be great, thank you.” She smiled.

  “I also thought we could test something out.” I wasn’t sure if my idea was a good one, but it could be okay with all of us around.

  “What’s that?” Ezra asked.

  “Having Asher feed from you to see if a master goes crazed as Agg—”

  “No!” Paige cried. “I won’t risk Ezra’s life, and how would you feel if something happened to Ezra? Asher also wouldn’t be able to live with himself.”

  “I think it’s worth trying,” Ezra said. Paige’s gaze swung to him. “We’ll be going into vampire territory. I won’t risk any of you fighting for me.”

  “What about their newborns?” Paige demanded.

  “We have to confirm with Asher, but I heard they keep them far away from court matters. They won’t be within the area because they won’t want to start a war over a youngling,” Thorn said.

  “All we can do is ask Asher,” Ezra said. He hugged Paige to his chest, and she wrapped her arms around him. “You’ll all be there. With Thorn and Nate’s strength and Alex’s power, things will stay in control.”

  “If Asher doesn’t agree, then we keep Ezra away from the vampire territory,” I suggested.

  “Fine,” Paige mumbled into Ezra’s chest. Ezra smiled over her head at me. I was glad he was on board with my idea, and I would make sure nothing happened to cause anyone heartache.

  Never in my years had I seen a person be changed over to a vampire. I didn’t realize just how hungry they woke. Yasmin, not herself, clung to her husband, feeding on him greedily while Sakura sat behind Yasmin, trying to control the intake.

  Sakura lifted her gaze to Asher and me standing at the end of the bed. “She needs more blood.” She’d already been through the bagged stuff we’d brought in. We didn’t think she’d need Eric, but she had, and yet she still craved more.

  “Because she lost so much to begin with,” Asher pointed out quietly, answering the unasked question flittering through my mind.

  “I could—”

  “No,” Asher snarled. His quick transformation startled me. His hand snatched out and drew me to stand in front of his body, holding me tightly. “No one has yours.”

  It wasn’t really the time to pop a boner, and yet there it was at his possessive tone. I patted his hand on my stomach. “Okay, big guy. No one feeds from me.”

  “But me,” he bit out around his fangs.

  Another pat to his hand, and I said reassuringly, “Yes, that’s right. Only you.”

  Sakura stared at me as if I had grown another head. Maybe it had something to do with the powerful grumpy vampire at my back I was c
oddling.

  “Guards,” I called. The door opened, and two stepped through. I felt bad I didn’t know all of Thorn’s brethren, but there were many. “Are either of you able to donate blood?” They eyed Asher and paled. I quickly reassured him. “Not him. Yasmin, on the bed.”

  “I have a mate,” one said, stepping back.

  “I’m able to.”

  “Make sure he’s replaced outside,” I told the other before he left. “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Tim. I’m a….” He glanced around.

  “A shifter?” I guessed from his smell.

  “Yes. A cat.”

  “A tiger?” I blurted, but then thought it rude, so heat hit my own cheeks.

  “No, just a cat.” He lifted his chin, indicating he wasn’t ashamed.

  I nodded. “Asher, can you help switch out Eric?” The man in his wife’s arms just moaned loudly. Another blush hit my face because I knew that moan. I’d used that moan when Asher had fed on me and I’d come in my pants a couple of days ago.

  Tim walked to the bed with a straight face and stiff posture. “Wrist or neck?” he asked.

  “Neck,” Asher said roughly. “It’s better blood for a newborn.” Asher nipped at my neck, causing me to shiver and remember his bite flaming my body, before walking around me as his features morphed back to his human form.

  Asher nodded down at Sakura, who pried Yasmin’s teeth from Eric. Yasmin snarled and writhed on the bed. She went to grab for Eric, but Asher moved him quickly over to the couch while Sakura wrapped her legs around Yasmin’s arms, and Tim climbed over her, placing his neck in front of Yasmin’s face.

  “Ready?” Sakura asked.

  “Yes,” Tim said.

  She released Yasmin’s head, and Yasmin sank her teeth into Tim’s neck. Tim hissed out a breath and a growl but stayed still.

  “She’s relaxing, not taking in as much,” Sakura said. “She’ll sleep soon.”

  I nodded to her and then looked over to Asher to see him helping Eric sit and giving him a bottle of orange juice. A sudden pang of jealousy swept through me. It was ridiculous I felt jealous over Asher taking care of Eric.

  Except… he was mine.

  I shook my head and clenched my teeth before stalking across the room where I grabbed the glass out of Asher’s hand and held it up for Eric instead. I was the only one the men in our group could take care of. Well, except for each other. I didn’t want them to show their sweet, caring sides for anyone but Paige and me. Asher’s amused gaze locked on my glare.

  Yeah, it’s okay for him to go all possessive, but I can’t feel the same way? Instead, he probably finds me cute and funny. God, I wanted to preen under his gaze. I liked he thought of me that way.

  That was messed up. We seriously drove each other crazy, yet we all liked that about one another.

  The perfect match.

  Eric pushed my hand away. He nodded. “Thanks.”

  “You’ll need to rest,” Asher told him.

  “I will. She’ll….”

  “Yasmin will be fine,” I said.

  We all looked over. Sakura was smiling fondly at Eric. “She’s nearly done, and then she’ll sleep. Once she wakes, she’ll be more herself. Hungry still, but she’ll manage it a little more, and we’ll have donors ready.”

  “I can give her more.”

  Sakura shook her head. “You’ve given enough. You need to replenish for her. She will want to… um, that is—”

  “Once she is in control, she will want to fuck and drink from you many times to regain the connection she had with you,” Asher supplied blandly.

  Eric coughed, nodded, gave a thumbs-up, and then muttered, “Right, yeah, okay.”

  The door suddenly opened, and Thorn stepped through. My heart gave a stumble. It happened every time I hadn’t seen one of the others in a while, and then when I did, it was as if my heart wanted to reach out to them and climb inside. I’d mentioned that to Paige during a moment of quiet time a couple of days ago, and she’d said she felt the same. We both smiled over it.

  I didn’t mind if the others didn’t feel it. I liked having something shared with Paige. I knew I was… more in touch with my feminine nature than the others. I didn’t care. I liked it because not only did it bond me with the guys in a different way, but it matched me to Paige in more ways than they had. Well, that was what I thought, and I was sticking to it.

  Thorn’s cocky smile had me rolling my eyes. With them, I enjoyed playing annoyed about how they all knew how my heart acted. They always gave me a look or a smirk or smiled over it, like they did with Paige. Obviously, I wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. I simply loved their reaction to it. However, I think they enjoyed it when I acted annoyed.

  It was all confusing and yet easy.

  Thorn glanced away to the bed, just as Yasmin’s eyes fluttered closed and she slumped against Sakura. “Do you have a room far away from this area?”

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “Good. Tim, if you’ll excuse us, please.”

  “Of course, brother.” Tim stood from the bed. There wasn’t even a wavering to his footing, so I knew Yasmin hadn’t taken much from him. He walked from the room quickly.

  Once the door shut, Thorn announced, “There’s been an issue. It’ll explain why Yasmin will have to be far away from here until we leave for our travels.”

  “What’s happened?” Asher demanded.

  My mind swirled as Thorn explained everything. It hadn’t felt like we’d been in the room long, and so much had occurred. Now Ezra and Thorn wanted to test out Ezra’s blood with Asher. It had my gut clenching in fear. If anything happened to either of them, nothing would be the same.

  Sakura stood with Yasmin in her arms. “I’ll take her to my room. She would hate it if she tried to attack a mate of her sister.”

  Eric also stood. He swayed a little but stayed on his feet. “I’ll help you.”

  “Actually, Eric, we need you to take over from Nate with your children for a while. We’ll need him with us in case…. Just in case.”

  Eric scrubbed a hand over his face. “Of course. Shit, the kids. They’ll need me.” He glanced at his wife in Sakura’s arms, looking torn with his dipped brows and thinned lips.

  “Go. They need you also. I’ll send for you when she wakes and after she’s fed again. You know she would want you protected as well.”

  He nodded and made his way over to them. “I know. All right, as soon as she’s okay to see me, please have someone come for me.”

  “I promise,” she whispered, looking up at him. He leaned down and kissed Yasmin on the lips quickly, then glanced up and pressed his lips against Sakura’s cheek. She closed her eyes. I could tell she was cherishing the touch. I knew I got the same blissed expression on my face every time one of mine touched me.

  Eric faced us. “Good luck.”

  I clenched my jaw. We may just need more than luck. Strength, power, and love would hopefully help us, or I could be jumping to conclusions, and Asher wouldn’t be tempted to tear out Ezra’s neck because of his unicorn blood. I started praying to anyone who would listen that would be the case.

  “How is she?” Paige asked as soon as we’d entered.

  Unconsciously, I made my way to her and took her hand as Asher pulled her gently back into his body. “She’s good,” I told her with a smile. “Sakura’s moving her to another area, and Eric will be with her later.”

  The door opened and Nate stepped in. There went my heart. I caught Paige’s smile and shared one with her.

  Nate slammed the door, faced the room with his hands on his hips, and roughly announced, “We are not fucking doing this.”

  “Nate—” Thorn tried, taking a step toward him, but Nate’s hand shot up.

  “No,” he clipped. “This is a risk we don’t need to take. We’ll keep Ezra away from any vampire. Simple as that.”

  “I assume Eric told you everything?” Asher asked.

  “Yes,” he hissed.

&
nbsp; “How are the kids?” Paige asked. I’d dropped her hand after Nate’s first words, ready to go to him, and now she was wringing them in front of her, worried about her niece and nephew.

  Nate’s eyes softened a little. “They’re confused. They know something’s going on, but not what. They’re smart, though. They know to trust us, trust the people around them. They were happy with Eric home. He composed himself well around them.”

  She nodded. “Good, great. I’ll get down to them, um, soon.”

  “You agree to this as well?” Nate asked.

  Paige shrugged. “I see their point, but of course I’m scared senseless like you are about them both.”

  “I’m not scared,” Nate bit out. He was, but he’d never admit it, else he wouldn’t have been fighting us on it.

  Ezra moved around us and started Nate’s way. Nate glared at him. “I’ll have you all here to help. That’s even if something happens in the first place. I have a feeling it won’t, though, because mature vampires don’t go crazy like the newborns do when scenting me.”

  “You said it there: we don’t know if Asher will be able to contain himself.”

  Ezra reached out and clasped Nate’s jaw. I saw he applied pressure. “This, in a controlled environment, is the best way to go. You know it. Deep down you do.”

  Nate’s jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared. “Fuck,” he snapped. “Do it then.”

  My heart jumped into my throat when Asher stood at Ezra’s back. His head dipped into Ezra’s neck, and I heard his deep inhale. I took a step closer while Thorn and Paige moved in to surround them. I could work from afar; I didn’t want to get in their way in case they had to use their strength to stop him.

  “Does he smell different?” Paige asked, her voice tight, her emotions locked down.

  “No. Just the same as always,” Asher said.

  My dick decided it was time to party when Asher licked up Ezra’s neck. Ezra hissed out a breath, then gasped when Asher bit into him. Asher groaned, drawing in Ezra’s blood. Ezra shuddered, gripping Nate harder.

  “Ezra?” Paige said.

  “I’m fine. G-Good in fact.” He moaned. “Shit, someone touch me.”