“Doctor Channon, I am sure your academic research on long-closed cases is absolutely fascinating, and if I hadn’t been trying to contact you for more than three weeks, I would gladly have that conversation with you. Unfortunately, I have more pressing concerns, such as why you felt the need to resign so suddenly from your position as a consultant with the police.”
Ant’s sigh was long and loud, and Viktor realized his mate was facing another situation where he believed he wasn’t being heard.A bit like what Bridget and I were doing to him this morning.Guilt was not a pleasant feeling.
“I don’t understand why I have to discuss my resignation from the police force with you or anyone else,” Ant said, his voice devoid of emotion. “I was one of many consultants the police employ. While my skillset is unique, both the police and the prosecutor’s office are well-equipped with staff who are more than competent in their work.”
“Look, Doctor Channon, if you’re looking for praise or accolades relating to your work with us, then I’ll sing your praises to the skies. I’m more concerned with what it’s going to take to get you to go back to your position. I know Captain Bains has been tryingto speak with you for as long as I have, offering you your position back.”
“Why would I take back my resignation?” Ant tilted his head to one side, but his eyes were fixed on Viktor. “I repeat, I was only working as an independent consultant. After that business with Officer Mike Casey and Colin Banks, Captain Bains insisted that to continue working, I would have to do so without my fated mate.
“As a lawyer, I am sure you are aware that it is illegal both for him to ask such a thing and to insist that was the only way I could continue my work with the police. Viktor has done nothing wrong, there are no criminal charges lodged against him in any legal system anywhere, so what Captain Bains was asking was extremely discriminatory, and my only recourse was to resign. Now, I’d like to...”
“No, no, no.” Hammond cut across Ant’s explanation as if he weren’t important at all, and Viktor bristled. “Don’t you understand? Your services have proven invaluable to our department, to the courts, and to the police force for years.
“I respect what you’re saying about the law, but surely if the police captain had a reason for refusing to allow your mate, the vampire known as Viktor, to have access to any crime scenes you investigate, then surely you can see that for what it is. An overly cautious desire to protect those crime scenes from any outside contamination in the event that the case you are investigating is relevant to a later trial. I hardly see how you can have an issue with that.”
“I see,” Ant said slowly. “So, you’re telling me that because of what I do and the amount of money I save the prosecutor’s office, the courts, and the police department, I am expected to forgo the one thing that is more important to me than anythingelse in life – my fated mate. There is no reason for this blatant discrimination against Viktor. I repeat, he has done nothing wrong, and he is no more likely to contaminate a crime scene than my dog, Able.
“What’s more, as you know, it is illegal for anyone to insist that I be made to work without access to my mate. If that cannot be respected by the police or the prosecutor’s office, then I don’t see that we have anything else to discuss. I called you as a longtime colleague to ask about a case that had connections with the Doukas crime family and yet it appears you’re more interested in separating me from my mate, the same way Captain Bains did. Do you have any particular reason why you’d do that? Technically, my personal life is none of your business.”
There was a long silence. Viktor met Ant’s eyes, and he could see his mate was confused. And then Hammond said, his voice lowered, “I assume this call is private?”
Ant glanced around his office, then his lips twitched, and he winked at Viktor. “I am in my private office.”
“Right then. Look, I will admit I’ve talked to Bains and a few other people about this. There’s been a bit of concern about how this personal life of yours might impact your work.” Hammond was almost whispering.
“I’ll be the first to admit I don’t understand how this fated mate business works. If we put that aside for a moment, I will say everyone I have spoken to has said what a widely respected and highly valued member of both the police force and the court system you are. We truly value your judgment.
“However, it has been suggested, and I hope you’ll forgive me for being a little crass, but it’s been suggested that you’ve basically been swept off your feet by somebody with an appealingphysique. There’s even a suggestion that the vampire you’ve taken up with might have you in a trance.”
Ant frowned, and Viktor quickly covered his mouth with his hand before he let on to Hammond that he could hear the conversation. “I am fully conversant with the concept of vampiric trance skills,” Ant said slowly. “But I’m a mage.”
“Yes,” Hammond said, “we’re aware of that, a level twelve mage. But we weren’t suggesting you had your vampire under a trance, we believe he might have done that to you, to the point of convincing you that you share this fated mate bond you speak of.”
“That’s impossible,” Ant snapped, and Able stirred as if he was going to sit up. Viktor put one hand on Able’s head and his other hand on Ant’s knee. “Vampires can’t put magical beings into a trance. That’s not possible. If you read the papers by my colleague Doctor Pike, at the Mage Academy, you will know that extensive testing has been done on the different levels of powers exhibited by various paranormals and how they interact or are repelled by each other.
“A vampires’ ability to trance human individuals was likely developed as a means to be able to take blood from an individual without them being aware it was happening. In historic times this was a vital survival skill. However, like any paranormal ability, it does not come without its cost to the vampire concerned. It requires intense mental acuity, and indeed is as draining on a vampire as an overuse of magic might be to a young mage.
“In modern times, and I am sure my colleague Doctor Pike will allow me to quote him, but it is said that a vampire today knows that the same results can be obtained with a smile, a wink, andthe offer to buy someone a drink, and is a lot easier than putting someone in a trance.”
Viktor bit his tongue and pressed his hand more firmly on Ant’s knee.
“I will add, Mr. Hammond, that it is correct that as my mate, Viktor does have a certain hold over me…”
“My gods, Doctor Channon, are you all right? Do I need to call somebody to see if I can get you out of your situation?”
“You misunderstand me, Mr. Hammond. I am perfectly safe,” Ant said firmly. “The hold that Viktor has over me is the same as the one I have over him. We are fated. Claimed mates. That means in no way, shape, or form are we meant to be apart, and our right to be together is upheld in every law in the land. I can respect that some people may have concerns regarding Viktor’s previous associations with various criminal factions.
“However, that does not mean he’s a criminal, and I defy anyone to prove that he is. I know that for certain. My personal skills ensured that I knew everything I needed to know about my mate before we even claimed each other. Again, I’d like to know why it is that so many people in town have such an issue with my association with my mate? Do you truly believe me so gullible that you think I’d be taken in by somebody with a powerful personality?”
“Of course not, Doctor Channon.” But Viktor could hear the lie, and he wondered if Ant could sense it, too.
“Mr. Hammond, thanks to my magic, I could blast Viktor into a million pieces if I felt so inclined. But I don’t, so I won’t. So, tell me, why is my mating with him suddenly a police or justice department problem?”
Viktor could hear the sounds of shuffling papers, and he wondered what Hammond was reading on the other end of the phone, or if the man was just fiddling for the sake of it. “I must say, Doctor Channon,” Hammond said at last, “I’d never known you to be so single-minded in your defense of a person on a personal level before.”
“My dedication to my mate is equal to the dedication I have to finding the truth about various crime scenes that I’ve assisted with over the years. I have given my time willingly in those endeavors, again, for years.”
Viktor caught the faintest hitch in his mate’s tone and realized that even though Ant hadn’t said or shown it to him or Bridget, he was genuinely upset, likely stemming from when he first handed in his resignation.Bridget and I didn’t make that any easier for him this morning, questioning his judgment the way we did.
