Page 15 of I Will Make You Mine
Elijah sighed heavily. “What game are you playing at now?”
“The game I’ve always been playing. A way for me to grow more territory and eliminate my enemies,” Deacon explained. “Now, I’ve already told Théoden and Josef that the other Alphas are coming for them. He tried to get me on their side, but I declined. Here’s the thing, though, Selena, Akio, and Laurent are smart enough to not attack at night when his vampires can help defend Josef’s pack. A fight is coming, and it’ll be during the day. Théoden knows he’ll need another ally, and he’ll come to me.”
“And that’s when you’ll make some demands of your own?” Elijah supplied.
Deacon nodded with a shit-eating grin. “Hell yeah. No way would I put my pack in jeopardy for Josef or to protect Théoden’s interests without something to gain for my sacrifice. I want territory and his promise to come to my aid if need be and not under these bullshit ass stipulations we have now. If I start a war, I want back up.”
“Be careful fucking with him, Deacon. He’s powerful as hell and growing more powerful even as we speak,” Elijah warned.
I knew his worry was coming from a place of love. Deacon was his mate and he didn’t want to lose him. Deacon was my friend, and I was always concerned for his wellbeing. So that was another thing Elijah and I had in common. We both loved and wanted to protect Deacon, even if it was from himself. But I thought my Alpha was on to something with this latest scheme.
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll be careful. Trust me, I’m not underestimating Théoden, or Josef for that matter. But, if I want something out of this shit that’s going down, I have to play hardball. Théoden will not only expect me to demand it, he’ll have to comply. He would do the same thing, wanting something in return. Nothing is free,” Deacon said.
“Well, looks like we’re all on the same page again. Whatever you need me to do, you know I’ve got your back. I’m going to go upstairs and take care of Chandler,” I said, rising to my feet.
“Thank you for keeping your word, Deacon,” Elijah said, smiling at his mate.
“I always do.” Deacon winked.
I could tell by the way they were looking at each other that temperatures were rising. They fucked more than I did on some days. Speaking of fucking, where was Slade’s sexy ass at? I left them to have fun and made my way back up to my room to find Michelle patting down Chandler’s forehead with a cool, wet cloth to help keep his body temperature down.
“I got it for now, Michelle. See you in a few hours,” I said, dismissing her from my room.
“Yes, Sir,” she said with a bow of her head, then left.
I looked at Chandler, he was in bad shape, but that was the breaks when an Alpha wolf bit you. But once it was all over, you joined the ranks of the elite. Powerful, magical, the envy of every human regardless if they were in a bitch-ass rebel cell or not. They all wanted to be what we were. I climbed in beside Chandler and turned on my TV to one of my favorite game shows, Jeopardy. It was filmed at night so vampires could also be contestants. I especially loved when one of the contestants got a question wrong. Didn’t matter if they were dragon, vampire, or wolf, they all were incredulous when it happened. Each claiming they knew the truth because they were there and blah, blah, blah. It was entertaining to see those pompous ass fuckers not get their way.
Chandler shivered beside me and I glanced down at him. Yeah, he was looking pretty bad, but I’d seen that look before. He had a decent chance of surviving the bite and becoming a wolf. I sat and watched two more hours of television. Nightfall would be coming soon, which meant the full moon would be here, and I was looking forward to running wild with my pack. There was just one thing I had to do.
I looked at Chandler and his fever was still pretty high, but at least the dry heaving was over. “You’re really trying to hang in there, ain’t ya, champ?”
He looked at me with half-lidded eyes. His bottom lip trembled and his teeth chattered. His skin was slick with sweat and very pale. I remembered that feeling when I was turned. Deacon found me imprisoned and he freed me. I would always have love for that man, he saw potential in me that no one else did. When he freed me from prison, he freed me from a certain death and gave me everything I could have ever wanted. Unfortunately, I didn’t see that future for Chandler.
“I really am proud of you, boy. You went in there, did what we wanted you to do, and got the job done. You saved my Alpha and friend. But, you’ve also made yourself a loose end, something that could unravel everything we worked so hard to protect. Sure, you may be able to tolerate the torture we think of for you, but who’s to say that you’ll be able to survive what Théoden or Josef will put you through? That’s a chance I’m not willing to take,” I told him.
I could tell he was starting to register the meaning of my words by how hard his eyes were trying to focus on me. Didn’t matter though, he was in no shape to fight me. He would just be an unfortunate tale of a human that didn’t survive the change. It wasn’t an uncommon one. Deacon would be disappointed, but I doubted by much. Elijah, he’d be the one truly pissed. It was his idea in the first place to give Chandler what he wanted. Well, as far as I was concerned, Deacon kept his word. He bit Chandler.
I leaned in closer to Chandler. “Your sacrifice is necessary to keep our pack safe. You understand, I’m sure.” I covered his mouth and nose with my large hand, making sure he couldn’t breathe. In his weakened state, he really couldn’t struggle against me. He body shook a little, he tried to move his head, but it was all in vain. Only a little bit longer and the survival of my pack would be cemented. I watched as the light went out of Chandler’s eyes and his body ceased its feeble movements. But the real kicker was when his heart stopped beating completely. I knew then that the boy was dead. Now, I just had to break the bad news to Deacon.
~*~
“Is everything okay?” Deacon asked when he and Elijah entered his office. “They told me you wanted to see me.”
I was leaning against his desk, puffing away on a stogie. I shook my head. “The kid, he didn’t make it.”
Deacon was silent as he looked at me, then I saw when his expression changed to a knowing one. Elijah, on the other hand, was a little upset, as if he’d been rooting for the kid.
“What happened?” Elijah asked.
“His body just rejected the venom. It happens. Not all of the time, but it’s pretty common that a human doesn’t survive the Alpha bite,” I said.
“You don’t seem too broken up about it,” Elijah stated.
“I’m an old wolf, seen it happen before and I’m no stranger to death. Hey, I liked the kid too. He would have been a nice addition to the pack. Just wasn’t in his cards, I guess. I had Rico dispose of his body, but I did take pictures just in case you needed proof,” I said, looking at Deacon now, who was still quiet.
Elijah snarled. “You must be happy that he’s dead. How convenient for you.”
“Elijah, it’s done,” Deacon said, placing his hand on Elijah’s arm. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s done. Listen, why don’t you make sure the pack is on their way here for the Hunt.”
