Page 9 of The Blood Master

“You’re up and dressed.” He said as he attempted to sit up.

"Don't get up, sweetheart. It's still early, but I have to attend to something, and I didn't want to leave without letting you know that I will be back as soon as possible." Conall bent and kissed him softly. "You are such a gorgeous young man." He said, dropping another kiss on his plump lips.

"You are amazingly handsome so early in the morning." Joel countered and reached out, taking Conall's hand in his.

“You stay in bed and relax. When I get back, we can pick up where we left off last night." That brought a shy smile to Joel's lips.

"I'll be waiting," Joel said, and after another harder, more determined kiss, Conall got up and left the room. It was difficult to leave, but he planned to take care of business as quickly as possible and return to his beloved.

He'd have breakfast delivered, and they could have a lovely morning of sex and breakfast and then more sex. He smiled at the erotic thoughts and shook himself, and brought his focus back to the business at hand, and that was killing that fucking cretin Cassius Brown.

Joel lay back in the large luxurious bed and closed his eyes. His mind shot back to the previous evening, and all he could think about was Conall and how he'd made him feel. The awareness he spoke of was real, and it brought equal measures of wonder and panic.

The paranormal world was all around him, and as a matter of fact, he was right there in the center of a vampire coven, the Rose Coven, to be specific. He understood who they were and what they were about now.

He grew up in this town, and he'd felt some suspicions about something powerful existing on the edges of normal life. But he never thought it would be so pervasive and so more than just vampires and shifters. It was a lot to take in, just as Conall had predicted, and it would be a while before he treated it as anything other than fantastical, but he would get there.

He checked the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was nearly six in the morning, and he was fully awake. It had been a couple of months since he had the luxury of sleeping in such comfort, but he could not get back to sleep. He sat up and then tossed off the blankets and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He wished he still had his phone, but Murphy had disposed of that early on. He wanted to call someone, maybe Ray at the coffee shop or Milly, his neighbor.

Thinking about his old life brought a wave of melancholy, but he pushed it away. There wasn't anything back there for him. He thought he had a life and friends, and yet no one looked for him. No one cared that he was gone, that he was missing. His family was spread out across the country, and no one kept in touch, so they wouldn't know, and they wouldn't care that he had been taken. He didn't need a phone because he had no one to call.

Joel got up and went to the bathroom, where he showered and dressed in the clothing from last night. The t-shirt and sweats were soft and warm, and he needed some soft and warm right now. He sat in the overstuffed chair by the wall and thought and wondered when Conall would return.

He was his beloved, and that fact was crystal clear now that the bond had snapped into place. It held a deep promise of love and devotion that would span a lifetime. It was the perfect relationship that would grow in love and longing with eachpassing day. He belonged to the feared and dreaded Conall Rose, Master of the Rose Coven.

That thought, as it hit him, weighed heavy, and he wondered if he was indeed reading this correctly. He'd been manipulated and abused for so long that he often doubted his own sense of reality, let alone an alternate one.

His mind was beginning to spin, and his thoughts were becoming frantic. He needed to calm down, or everyone would be able to feel his panic. The vampires could sense intense feelings like fear and panic, and he didn't want to raise the alarm that he was upset.

"I need some air." There were no windows in the bedroom or bathroom, so he went out into the living room. There was one on the far wall, but it was covered in thick, heavy curtains. He pushed back the curtains and saw that it did not open. The sense of being trapped was crawling all over him. "I have to have air."

Joel put on the slippers that Conall had given him last night and headed for the door. He remembered the route they took to get to Conall’s quarters so he could backtrack and find his way out. He wouldn’t go far he just needed to breathe some fresh air and feel the sky above him and the earth below. He wouldn’t go far, he told himself.

No one bothered him or tried to stop him. That’s when it struck him that he was not a prisoner, and he had the power to come and go as he pleased. He had the urge to go back to Conall’s quarters and wait. But the desire to feel some fresh air on his face won out and he continued on his way.

Once in the garage, he followed the roadway out the back entrance and into the alley that ran between the warehouse and the bar across from it. He noticed then that it was the Blood Rose, the place where his nightmare began. He stood still fora moment, taking it in, and he realized this was the alley he stood in as he waited for Murphy to bring his car around. The stupidity of that moment was hitting him hard as he considered the stupidity of his present moment.

He turned and looked back at the entrance to the garage and then down the alley a short distance to the main street. It felt good to be out in the air, but there was something telling him to go back. There was an attachment pulling at him, insistent that he return.

It was the pull that Conall had spoken of, the connection they held, that gave him awareness and insight and brought their hearts and minds together. He needed Conall in a way that he'd never needed anyone. Conall calmed and reassured him and gave him a sense of support that freed him from the panic and anxieties with which he'd been plagued for so long.

He looked behind him again and then again down the alleyway to the main street. "I'll just go to the main street and feel the openness and breathe the air, and then I will return." He told himself and began walking. The further he got from the warehouse entrance, the more he felt off and in danger. Was it real, or was it a side effect of the bond? He pushed himself to make it to the main street, stopped, and looked around.

It was too early for there to be many people on the street, but there was life and movement, and it seemed normal. It was the normal that he craved. To finally see the light of day and the city at dawn. He'd been kept in a room with the other dancers over the club and was not allowed to leave.

This felt good but also dangerous, and he wasn't sure where the danger signs were coming from. He stood for a few minutes, just taking in the openness and freedom, and then turned to head back to the alleyway. The desire to get back tothe warehouse and to the safety of Conall's quarters and Conall's arms quickly overcame his need for fresh air.

Just as he was about to turn down the alley, someone rushed up behind him with an arm around his waist and a hand over his mouth. He was picked up and tossed into the back seat of a long black car. It took less than a few seconds for him to be forced back into his living nightmare.

CHAPTER SIX

Conall reviewed the video surveillance of Cassius several times, watching him flee from the clan safehouse when Drakon went through it with his men, leveling it. He was picked up by a black car that is owned by the jackal gang that resides within the city. The jackals are loyal to no one, including their own brothers, so they weren't doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.

"Cassius has hired them as protection and maybe more." Ethan offered, and Conall nodded his agreement.

“I believe it is time we put the run on the jackals as well as the bears. This city needs to be cleaned and controlled before it falls below our ability to bring it back.” Conall had nothing against criminal activity, and his business ventures relied heavily upon illegal activities. What he could not abide were the assholes who caused pain, humiliation, and loss for no reason apart from their need to hurt someone. It could be overlooked for a while, but soon, it became a lifestyle for them and could no longer be disregarded.

The bears and the jackals had both reached their limit and if Conall happened to benefit from their demise, then all thebetter. He put in a call to Victor, giving them full authority to finish the bears and bring down the jackals as well.

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