New Beginnings [Kaliss 1]

CHAPTER 1 Two months ago “Did you really think your bullshit would work, Nicu? Seriously? How stupid do you think I really am?” Jewel hissed, standing just inside the gardens. “I really hope that question is rhetorical, imp ass. Because I personally don’t think you even have a f*****g brain or you would have left Kaliss a long time ago,” Nicu said with one of those snotty looks he always had when he spoke to Jewel. “You’re a dickless wonder, Nicu. I’d be shocked to hear that you ever lost your virginity,” Jewel snapped. “And you are a useless goblin that happened to get lucky enough to find your mate, who turned out to be the leader of all the vampires, or you would be living an even lonelier life than you already are,” Nicu hissed through his elongated fangs. “But I did, and maybe it’s time you accept that,” Jewel said with a bitchy smile. Nicu sneered, tossing his head to the side, then quickly said, “Yeah, that won’t happen.” Jewel scoffed, rolling his eyes, pretending that words didn’t hurt, and ring so true. “Did you really think that you could get me to fall for Noris wanting to be my “friend” bullshit? I mean come on, Nicu, I’ve been mated for almost two years. I do believe if he wanted to be my “friend” he would have approached me well before now. I would have also thought that as smart as you think you are; you would have been a bit more creative.” Shaking his head, Jewel asked, “So what was the plan? Get Noris to befriend me and then use our friendship to come between me and my mate so we don’t get married?” “Wow, that was a no brainer for the no brain i***t,” Nicu snapped. Jewel let out a deep breath of annoyance. “You do know that married or not, Ezra is still my mate, and nothing changes that, right?” “Pity for him. It’s just such a shame for Ezra. He must be paying penance for something his father did in the past to have fate bring you to him. Every vampire in the coven feels sorry for Ezra, and it isn’t that not having this wedding would change things for Ezra as much as it is knowing how bad you want this and how it will destroy you when it doesn’t happen. Because trust me when I say, you will never be walking down any aisle.” Jewel had to get control of himself. He absolutely refused to cry or show the fucker how much his words hurt. Gods, he hated this man. Looking around the garden, Jewel allowed the serenity of the place to wrap around him and hug him like a friend giving comfort. It was beautiful back here. The garden was surrounded by blue cornflowers, Liatris flowers, lavender flowers, and paying homage to Colorado was the magnificent state flower, Rocky Mountain Columbines. There were benches covered by specially made gazebos to keep the sun out, a large BBQ for garden parties, and a waterfall wall to bring a serene, calm atmosphere. People could be found in the back, talking and enjoying each other’s company at all hours of the day and still be warm at night. For most of the vampires here, it was the first time they were able to even see the sun without fear of burning alive. They really loved this part of their home. Jewel just wondered how much they would like it if they knew it was Jewel who designed and created it for the coven house. It just sucked that none of them were willing to enjoy it with him. That’s why Jewel had created his maze. His own personal oasis from the hell he faced every day living here with these pricks. Realizing arguing with this fucktard was a waste of perfectly good energy and time, Jewel started towards the maze. “Give it your best shot, dickhead. You will never win. I will walk down the aisle, in June, and there is nothing you or your minion s**t friends will be able to do to stop it from happening.” Not waiting to hear Nicu say anything else and knowing the man couldn’t follow him into the maze for fear of death because the maze was in full sunlight, Jewel took off into the maze. He really needed to make it to the fountains, where he knew Nelson would be sitting, waiting for him. The poor guy still wasn’t talking, and the only time he was out of his room was when Orion would pick him up and carry Nelson to the middle of the garden maze in the back of the coven house gardens. Jewel loved that time. He could pretend he had a real friend for a change. Hell, with Nelson not speaking or moving around, Jewel at least had someone he could talk to and not fear they would hurt him like―no. Jewel was not going to follow that thought. He had enough right now after that exchange with Nicu. The winding trail was lined with vertical hedges mixed with a variety of aromatic plants, such as marjoram, germander, thyme, lemon balm, chamomile, and many others. Jewel loved it. It was his way to have his herb garden, without fear of it being destroyed. It was also a place he could go that no one could follow unless they wanted to risk being burnt alive by the sun. Jewel knew he was getting close to the center of the maze. He could hear the beautiful waterfall fountain in the middle of his Koi pond. Jewel couldn’t wait to sit and watch the different colored birds feeding from their luxurious feeders as the squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits played all around. He could sit for hours and just watch them play. Until Nelson had arrived, Jewel would actually sit and talk to them as he would any other friend. However, now he had an actual person he could talk with. Not that Nelson ever said a word back to him, but still, there was something about having an actual person to speak to, that made you feel not so alone in life. Yes, Jewel had his mate, but Ezra was always so busy, Jewel often found himself alone. Making the last turn, Jewel could hear Orion talking to Nelson about his day. “I want to talk to Ezra about Nicu. It’s his job as the second to get s**t going in Kaliss, and we are so far behind it isn’t even funny. We still don’t have water in over half of the mansion, town, or in the stable areas, and the buildings we were hoping to open are going to be pushed back, yet again, because we can’t find a contractor willing to come out this far to help us to redo the electric and bring them up to code. Which might be a good thing considering how crazy everyone seems to be acting right about now. Jewel is trying to plan his wedding to Ezra, and Nicu keeps putting up barriers. I don’t understand why Nicu has to be such a d**k to Jewel all the time or why Jewel doesn’t just tell Ezra. I would, but the little s**t made me promise to not say anything.” “And you won’t and neither will I. Ezra has enough going on without some petty school crap to worry about,” Jewel said, walking into the center of the maze. Standing Orion replied, “Well it’s wrong to keep this from him, Jewel. Ezra has a right to know that his second is disrespecting the consort to the king.” Jewel didn’t want to argue. He knew Orion was only trying to help, but the thing of it was, Jewel was ashamed. How do you tell your mate, who is the leader of his people, that those people he loves and calls family, hate his mate and want nothing more than for Jewel to drop off the planet? The answer is…you don’t. Wanting to change the subject, Jewel asked Nelson, “How are you doing today?” Nelson sat on the bench with a light sweater and lap blanket to keep off the little chill in the air. He didn’t answer, but Jewel could see Nelson had heard him. Orion softly ran his hand down the back of Nelson’s hair, saying, “Good. He ate everything on his tray today for both breakfast and lunch.” “That’s wonderful, Orion. I’m sure he will be back with us soon. He just needs time after everything he went through,” Jewel replied, walking up to the large vampire. Jewel was not fooled when the man turned away. He had seen that glimmer from Orion’s eyes, indicating he was holding back tears. Lightly touching Orion’s back, Jewel asked, “What did I tell you when you brought Nelson to us last month?” Orion whispered, “That we would do everything we could to bring him back to his old self.” “And we will. Remember when you arrived? He was unconscious and barely alive. Now look at him. He’s awake, eating, and aware of everyone and everything around him. Everyday he grows stronger, Orion. You just have to be patient,” Jewel said with conviction. “What if he comes around and hates me?” Orion asked in a gravelly voice telling Jewel that this was a major fear for the vampire. Shaking his head, Jewel replied, “He will not hate you, Orion. He will thank you for standing by him and being there for him every day. He will love you for taking such good care of him.” “Will he really? Even when he finds out we’ve bonded without his permission?” Orion asked sarcastically. “That was an accident,” Jewel replied, remembering that day. Nelson was a little Santorini fox that had saved two towns, Maddox and Crystal, from a mad evil fairy king named Fallon. A Santorini fox looks so adorable, sweet, and non-threatening. The thing is, when they shift from man to their animal too fast, it seems they can literally blow up everything around them. So when Fallon attacked the paranormal council building, Nelson had the pixie king and his regent shield the building while Nelson went out and took out Fallon and his hundreds of army warriors on his own. However, in doing so, something happened. Jewel still didn’t understand everything, but when Orion had shown up at the coven house with Nelson in his arms, saying they were mates, and begging Jewel to help him fix his mate, Jewel immediately fell back on mates heal mates, so he had suggested that Orion feed him some of his blood. Orion had taken Nelson to the bedroom. When laying Nelson on the bed, they noticed that the little fox’s claws had not receded. Not having anything else or thinking twice about it, Orion used one of those claws to cut his own wrist as Jewel held Nelson’s mouth open for the blood to dribble into it. They had to repeat this process a few times before agreeing that they should wait and see if it had helped. Nelson opened his eyes a few minutes later and his claws had disappeared. Nelson didn’t speak or walk. Hell, he didn’t even turn his head. When the doctor had come, Orion had explained what had happened, and the man said that Nelson was healing and to just give him time. What he had done was over extend himself and only time would heal him at this point. It wasn’t long after this that Orion had noticed some changes coming over him. First, it was when Jewel had come in with a nice lunch to have with Nelson. Jewel hated being one of the only people in the coven to eat and now with Nelson here, he had someone he could share a meal with. Orion had smelled the smoked meat sandwiches and his stomach had rumbled. Without thinking, Orion had snagged a piece of the stray meat that had fallen to the side of one of the plates and popped it in his mouth. They had both freaked out, since eating regular food could be lethal to a vampire, but he had no ill effects and wanted more. Jewel knew that only a mated vampire could eat human food. They called one of Nelson’s brothers, Ollie, and he told them that a Santorini fox mated by scratching their intended. So, when Orion had used Nelson’s claw to open his wrist to get Orion’s blood in Nelson’s mouth and Nelson swallowed that blood, they had bonded. Orion felt horrible about it, but as far as Jewel was concerned, what was done was done. “Orion, Nelson will understand, and when he is back to his old self, you two can complete your mating and live happily ever after,” Jewel replied with a smile. Orion sighed. “I hope you’re right.” “Look at the bright side. You can have meals with us if you choose, and even bring Nelson out into the gardens for fresh air during the day without fear of dying,” Jewel replied. “Ollie says that when we complete our mating, I will be able to stay in the sun as long as I like instead of the hour at a time I have right now.” “And he also said you will find that you have other gifts given to you as well, like his and his other brother’s mates, Nash, Wyndingo, and Zen. I can’t wait to see what those are,” Jewel said with excitement. Orion shook his head and rolled his eyes. Jewel nudged Orion with his shoulder and looked at Nelson with a smile. “Maybe he’ll be able to zap Nicu’s ass with a bolt of lightning?” “Or maybe I’ll be able to fly,” Orion teased back. Jewel pointed in the air, saying, “Oh look. It’s a bird, it’s a plane. No! It’s Super Orion.” Orion laughed, then leaned down to kiss the top of Nelson’s head. “I better go. I’m feeling my skin starting to heat. I’ll be back in an hour to bring Nelson back inside. Your lunch is on the table.” “Thanks, Orion. Go. Nelson and I will be fine,” Jewel said with a confident voice. Orion went to leave, then stopped, turned back around, saying, “I really appreciate what you’ve been doing for Nelson and me, Jewel. Thank you.” Unaccustomed to kind words, Jewel scoffed and waved Orion off. “Please, I enjoy being with Nelson. It’s nice to be able to sit and talk to someone and it not be a squirrel or rabbit.” “Jewel, you really need to talk with Ezra. This thing with Nicu is getting far worse and I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Ignoring the vampire’s words, Jewel went and grabbed his tray and took it to where Nelson sat. “I’ll be fine, Orion. Now go before you turn into a lobster and I’m forced to eat you.” Orion sighed, shook his head, and walked away. Jewel took the lid off his dish and picked up his sandwich, saying, “He’s not wrong, Nelson. Nicu and the others are getting worse. The thing is, I can’t tell Ezra. It would break his heart. He and Nicu grew up together. They are as close as Orion and Jagger are to my mate. I just can’t do that to him.”