New Beginnings [Kaliss 1]

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

Four weeks later

“Nicu, if Helio and Briar don’t care, why the hell should anyone else?” Ezra asked in frustration.

“Ezra, it is tradition to celebrate the butterfly dragons in June. If you and Jewel get married in June, that would mean you will outshine them and you know that goes against the traditions of our people,” Nicu argued.

Ezra sat back in his chair looking up at the ceiling and rubbed his face in frustration. Nicu was right, but Jewel was going to be destroyed. Jewel had planned everything for their wedding in the past month and he was adamant that June fifteenth was going to be their day to tie the knot. Ezra considered their knot tied the day they mated, but his mate had dreamed of a human wedding and that is what they were going to do. The problem was, his dream also had a date, and that date was June fifteenth. “The wedding is taking place on June fifteenth, Nicu, and that is that.”

“Ezra, if you do this, you will lose the faith and trust of your clan. We have traditions for a reason. The butterfly dragons saved our people from extinction. We honor them to show them our love and appreciation for what they did for us all. You can’t toss aside that tradition because your mate wants to get married in June. No one is saying don’t get married. Just don’t do it in June.”

Gods, Ezra knew Nicu was right. Many millennia ago the fairy king ordered his lead scientist, Rune, to create a shifter that could kill the dragons and phoenix so that he could be the ruler of the paranormal world. What Fallon didn’t know was that Rune was doing everything he could to stop him from succeeding in his plan, so instead of a shifter, he created the Vampire.

Because they couldn’t shift into an animal, Fallon called them a failure and left them in cages to die. Rune snuck back to where their kind was caged and gave a key to Volak, the first vampire created. Volak and the others had run for their lives, going deep into hiding.

In the beginning, they were starving and had no idea how to gain the nourishment they needed. They didn’t understand all they could do and learned through trial and error. Many of their kind had died. It was late June when out of nowhere, the butterfly dragons appeared. They showed the vampires how to feed without killing, as well as gave them a true understanding of what would happen if they were to go into the light of day.

It was Briar and Helio that brought them riches to buy their first home and teach them how to survive. Volak was voted in as their leader, or Re and Ezra’s father, Armond, was made his Regal.

But soon they became the hunted, and not just by Fallon, but by the humans as well.

Once the vampires were settled in, Volak wanted to honor the butterfly dragons for all they had done for his people and he declared the month of June their month and they were to be celebrated and honored for those thirty days. This tradition has continued, even when Helio and Briar disappeared from the coven.

“Ezra, are you listening to me?” Nicu asked in frustration.

Coming out of his musings, Ezra realized that Nicu must have been talking to him for some time. However, Ezra had no idea what the man had said. “I’m sorry, Nicu. My mind wandered.” Sighing and sitting forward, Ezra said, “I will speak with Jewel. Maybe we can change the wedding to May or July.”

Nicu’s smile confused Ezra. But then he remembered the man’s deep concern about dishonoring the butterfly dragons, so he dismissed it. “Like I said, I’ll talk with Jewel. He’s going to be broken hearted. I know he was really looking forward to a June wedding.”

Nicu stood. “He’ll understand, Ezra. It is tradition.”

Jewel walked into the office and stopped when he saw Nicu standing there. Ezra could see his mate’s discomfort, but every time he asked Jewel what his issue was with Nicu, Jewel would say that it was just Nicu and he were two very different men.

Nicu gave a bright smile to Ezra, then turned to leave. Ezra could have sworn he heard his mate growl, but soon enough Nicu was walking out the door and Jewel was walking in.

“Hello, my love. What are you doing here? I thought you were going to spend time with Nelson today?” Ezra asked.

Ezra loved how caring his mate was to Nelson. He just wished he could be that way with the other members of his coven. He knew Jewel had good reason to dislike some of his people, but Ezra didn’t know what to do to help the situation. s**t, Ezra was still trying to get used to being the Re. He had known he would be the Re one day, but he still felt like it had happened too soon.

Ezra had risen in the ranks faster than any vampire ever had in past years. He worked hard, was dedicated to his people, and having your father be the Re only made it that much more important that Ezra succeed.

However, he had no idea how soon the position would have been given to him and there were many nights that Ezra wished he was still the Regal. Not just because the responsibilities were not all his own, but because that would mean his father and mother would still be with him today, and he would give anything for that to be his reality. Sadly, it was not.

Ezra had been the second to his father. He had worked his ass off to get that far and to do it as fast as he had, and it was something that his father and mother had been proud of. The only position voted in was Re. The others were a fight to the top, unless the Re had good reason to change the standings, and that reason could only be if the person had broken clan law.

Every hundred years, the Re would put together a special competition called the Summoning Ceremony. Vampires from all the covens that wished

to take part in the challenge could and that included the European division.

The competitors would then be placed in ranking brackets and fight until the last person stood. Even the current ranking member would have to participate in order to maintain their position.

However, two years ago Ezra and his people were forced to do things a little differently.

It had been almost two years ago that Ezra’s world changed forever.

He, Jagger, and Orion had been out hunting down some rogues that they had heard were around their hometown. Ezra had gotten a call from his father saying that an elf had arrived, telling his guard that there was going to be an attack on their coven. His father didn’t believe the elf but wanted Ezra and his men to return to the coven house just in case. He was going to talk to the elf after his meeting with the other delegates. Until then, the elf would be locked up in case this was a set-up. However, when Ezra and the others had returned, his father, the delegates, and most of the inner circle had been killed, along with his mother and others from his clan. Had Ezra and his men not arrived when they had, the entire coven would have been destroyed.

It had been a blood bath. His father and inner circle had been in a meeting when the attack took place. Ezra, Orion, Nicu, and Jagger had gone through the evidence over and over and Ezra and his friends all had come to the same conclusion―It had to have been an inside job. No one should have been able to get past the Imperial Guard, yet they had. How would the person in charge of the attack even know that the entire inner circle would be meeting that day? Who would have let the enemy in? Why didn’t his father, the Primo, the Dires, and the local Scions not fight back? And since all were still in their seats, it was clear they had not even tried to defend the Re or any of the others inside that room. No, the answer was they didn’t fight back because they couldn’t and that could only mean they had been drugged and left defenseless to be slaughtered. The only way that could happen, is if the person behind the attack was one of their own.

The problem was none of them had a clue who could possibly be behind it. Who would betray their people? An immediate vote was held. Ezra had thought that Alec, the Regent to the Re, would have won. He was older, more experienced, and his position was to be the eyes and ears of the Re in the outer countries of the United States and Canada. Alec traveled all over Europe and the other continents making sure that the covens were well cared for and had everything they needed to survive. Any problems in those areas would be reported to him, and then brought to the Re’s attention to be taken care of. However, Alec was not chosen as the new Re.

To Ezra’s shock, he was, and because the Summons Ceremony was not scheduled to be held for another two years, he was able to use the past order of winners to replace the fallen. Ezra had wanted Orion as his second, but the man had refused. He stated that he would prefer to be the Primo.

Reluctantly, Ezra had granted his wish, not because Ezra felt he couldn’t run the Imperial Guard, but because he knew that Orion was refusing because he didn’t like when people looked at him with all those scars. Ezra wished Orion

would see himself as he and just about everyone else did, a hero, but that was Orion’s internal battle to fight. So, Jagger had taken the Regal position, or his second. Nicu had been placed as the head Dire and Alec continued as the Regent to the Re.

So many things had to be taken care of, and with the investigation into the attack and learning the ins and outs of what was to be expected as a Re, it had been two months before Ezra even knew that Jewel was being held in the cells below. Hell, had Ezra not made the comment that he wished he could speak to the elf that had tried to warn his father, Ezra doubted he would have even known at that point.

Ezra’s heart still hurt thinking about how Jewel had looked when he had gone to the dungeon and found his mate half-starved and full of filth.

Ezra had practically gone mad. Had it not been for Orion and Jagger, Ezra would have killed the two guards and the dungeon master. Since the guards had only been following orders, Ezra had reassigned them to another coven in Spain. However, the dungeon master had been demoted to a plebeian and marked as a man unable to participate in the Summoning Ceremony for the next five hundred years. Ezra had taken his mate to his quarters and nurtured him back to health. But he discovered quickly that his mate may love and care for him, but Jewel wanted very little to do with his people and they wanted even less to do with Jewel. He was an elf, and mixing paranormals was not something they approved of.

Ezra hoped that with time, both his mate and his people would see how wonderful each side was and love each other as much as Ezra loved them all.

“So. I figured I would come and see you and maybe we could have lunch together,” Jewel softly said.

Ezra came out of his musings and realized his mate had been talking and he had not heard a word. “I’m sorry, darling. I was in another world.”

Jewel walked around the desk, pushed Ezra’s chair back, and sat on his lap. Ezra’s c**k was hard as a rock in seconds. Damn, his mate was sexy.

The second Jewel touched his lips to Ezra’s, the vampire was lost in lust and need.

Grabbing for his top desk drawer, Ezra pulled it open and dug through, as he continued the assault on his mate’s lips. Gripping the lube in his hand Ezra stood with his mate in his arms, pulling back slightly, whispering, “I need you, mate.”

Jewel rasped, “And I need you. Lock the door.”

Ezra placed Jewel on his desk, then rushed to the door, just as another coven member was approaching. “Sir, Nicu said that I am to cancel the caterers for the wedding until a new date can be set.”

“What new date?” Jewel asked in confusion.

Ezra turned around, not knowing what to say. He had known he would have to tell his mate that they couldn’t be married in June as they had planned, but Ezra had wanted to tell him on his terms, not like this.

Jewel slid off the desk and walked closer to Ezra, softly asking,

“Ezra, what is Noris talking about? Why are you wanting to cancel our caterer?”

Ezra sighed, and dropped his head in shame. “I’m sorry, mate. We are not going to be able to get married in June. The vampires have their tradition and it must be followed. June is the month of celebration for the butterfly dragons and we cannot go against our tradition.”

“I don’t understand. Helio and Briar both said they were okay with us getting married in June, so what’s the problem?” Jewel asked angrily.

Ezra looked away, and then Jewel gasped, “This is because of Nicu, isn’t it?”

Looking back at his mate, Ezra said, “He came to me about complaints and―”

Jewel didn’t let Ezra finish, before snapping, “Complaints? This is bull s**t and you know it. Nicu is only trying to hurt me, Ezra. No one gives a s**t about us getting married in June. Besides, if Helio and Briar don’t have a problem with it, then why the f**k should anyone else?”

“Sweetheart, I am the Re and I have a responsibility to follow tradition. How can I expect my people to follow our laws and rules if I break them myself?” Ezra stated calmly.

Jewel turned away, drew in a shaky breath, then let it out slowly. He then turned back around, and Ezra felt his heart clench with the pain he saw within his mate’s eyes, as he said, “I understand.”

Jewel started out of the office, when Ezra grasped his arm. “Don’t go.”

Jewel didn’t look at him as he slowly removed Ezra’s hold, whispering, “I need to get back to Nelson. I forgot that Orion has a meeting with some of the Dires.”

Ezra helplessly watched as his mate left his office, head held high, but Ezra knew he had just broken his mate’s heart.

* * * *

Jewel made his way quickly to the maze. He ignored everyone he passed, knowing that he couldn’t dare show his pain to them. He couldn’t allow anyone to know how much his heart hurt right now, and it had been his own mate that had ripped it out of his chest. He heard Orion laughing.

“Those critters are crazy.”

Jewel got there in time to see the rabbits hopping over each other, as if playing a game of leap frog. When he glanced at Nelson, he could have sworn the young man was smiling, but in seconds it was gone, and Jewel was questioning if he had seen it at all.

Nelson sat with a light coat on and a lap blanket to keep him warm and Orion was tucking it under the man’s legs. “Soon it’s going to be too cold to come out here.”

“I have a special Gazebo being brought in tomorrow as well as a chimera to put a small fire in to keep it nice and warm. This way, we can still come out here if we wish,” Jewel said with a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. Looking around, Jewel asked, “Where’s Ollie? I thought he was coming to see Nelson today.”

“The gazebo sounds nice, but when it starts to snow, it won’t be easy getting in here. Ollie was here, but he got upset when Nelson still wouldn’t talk to him. He did some kind of energizing thing and told Nelson that he would not come back until he could be the brother he used to be before Fallon ever took him. I think it’s just really hard on Ollie to see Nelson like he is,” Orion stated looking at Jewel oddly, then asking, “Are you alright, Jewel?”

Jewel couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat. He couldn’t remember the last time someone asked about his well being. However, he also knew he couldn’t tell Orion what Nicu had done this time, or the giant vampire might do something they would all regret in the end.

Swallowing past the lump, Jewel quietly said, “Ollie will be back. He said the same stupid s**t the last time he stopped in, and yes, I’m fine, Orion.

Thank you for asking.”

Orion didn’t look like he believed Jewel, but thankfully changed the subject. “You were right. With the cloud cover, I can stay outside with Nelson longer. We had a wonderful lunch and laughed at the animals playing. I could have sworn I saw a smile or two. I really think Nelson is coming back to me, Jewel.”

“Of course he is, Orion. Like the doctor said, he just needs time to heal,” Jewel said walking closer to them.

Orion bent and kissed the top of Nelson’s head, whispering, “I better go in for a while, sweet thing. I have a meeting in a few minutes.” Turning, Orion said, “I’ll be back in an hour to get him. If you need anything, call and I will be here in seconds.”

Giving the man the best smile he could at the time, Jewel replied,

“We’ll be fine. Now, go.”

The second Orion left, Jewel sat next to Nelson and all his pain, anger, and hurt came out of him. He cried harder than he had ever cried before. How could his mate fall for Nicu’s bullshit? When would Ezra put Jewel’s thoughts and feelings first. He just couldn’t keep going through this.

“Ma―Maybe I―I sh―should just le―leave?” Jewel hiccupped.

Jewel was shocked when he felt a hand touch his leg, and a raspy voice, saying, “No.”