Candy: Book 5 of the Lord Emperor Vampire Saga

Chapter 208: Pillars


“Oh, stop brooding.”

“I am not brooding.” In truth, I wasn’t. I was stunned. I don’t know what the hell happened. All I knew that I was left with dainty boot and heel marks up my backside and a credit card that was close to melting. I went over to Leatherella to save my little baby girls from debauchery and got stuck holding the check. I still didn’t know what the hell they got. Claudia just gave me a big peck on the cheek and so did Callia and Raissa then they sashayed out the front door of the store. I stood there like a stunned moose. For three grand, there better be a hell of a lot of leather on all of them.

Frederick had everything all packed up and held the service hall entrance open for us to vacate the premises. Somehow, I ended up paying for everyone yet again. I still didn’t get to see what Sasha had picked out for me. He had a little bit of wicked in his eyes so...it was something that should make it to our bedroom. If that was the case, so much for the brotherhood sensibilities.

Claudius was wearing my blue angel outfit. Damn, I’m good. It fit him like clothing should. Clung to the meaty parts. Swept the toned parts. If I wasn’t mistaken, my Muzt was wearing a thong just from the panty line and the fact that his face was a little uncomfortable. Before I could reach over and conduct some experiments, for erotic research, I got a bit arm around the waist and ended up sitting on Marcus’ lap.

“I think you have me mistaken for someone else.”

“No...I got who I wanted in my lap.”

“Marcus.”

“You touch Father with that gleam in your eyes, we are never going to get to Haley’s wake on time.”

“You want X here?”

Sasha held up the bag he was carrying. “No, I want you to get dressed.”

I narrowed my gaze and looked back at him. I didn’t know he could play innocent. Hmmm, I’m going to have to watch him a little more carefully. “Why do I have a feeling that if I don’t get dressed in this, you aren’t getting X into it?”

“I never said you were stupid, Sex.”

I narrowed my eyes at my black haired vampire. “So much for brotherhood sensibilities?”

Sasha shrugged. “If you can take any consolation everything that should be covered is covered.”

“That sooo does not set my mind at ease.”

When my Sasha goes shopping, he goes shopping. Aside from his penchant of living in a warehouse, I noticed that he’s something of a clothes horse...except for his hunting gear. Frederick wasn’t kidding when he pointed my Vampire to the patent leather section. I guess if you got a look that works for you, use it. Sasha doesn’t even have to work to get his nibbles to come to him. He shows up all black and shiny and he can just prop up the wall. I pulled out...purple? Cranberry? I hit the interior light in the car. Dark grape? Eggplantish. Okay, leather pants. That sheer silvery tank that I had passed up for him but I was lucky enough to get it. No...it had sleeves. I reached in and pulled out more leather. A belt? No...a harness? A harness!

“Where the hell did you hunt before I came along? Bondage R Us?”

“Just get dressed, Fallen. We will be at the grounds quicker than you might think.”

I ended up getting buck naked. Marcus just looked at my bare chest, met my eyes then flicked over to the side to look at the scenery. Thy shall not covet your Father’s piece of ass. Crap! Sasha had wrapped his hand in my hair and hauled me over to his side. I ended up looking up into his face from his lap. “You need a shield better, Fallen. You are not a piece of ass.”

“Sorry. I’m just worried about what the girls got up to.”

“Claudia will not allow them to be so outrageous. While we are going to a Lycan affair, your children are Princesses and will act accordingly.”

“Sasha, wasn’t it you who said that you should have been hanging from a tree by your neck when you were nineteen?” I blinked up at him.

He opened his mouth then closed it. “Actually, now that think about it, Claudia was rather the little rebel when she was a young fledgling.”

“You have not calmed me in the least.” I wiggled into the eggplant pants then noticed that they laced up the side. Sasha turned me on my side and pulled the laces tight. Okay, it left me all flat and lean in the front and if I had to pee, I was going to be in big trouble. I got a hand smoothed over my butt. Yeah, I was commando. I slipped into the silvery tank then looked at the leather straps. I had no clue how the hell this worked.

It turned out that these straps were like a roman soldier’s leather chest armor thingy only it was eggplant colored and was kind of tight almost like a corset. There was no way I was going to get regular wings to pop out of this.

“On the floor, Fallen. I will fix your hair.”

I couldn’t bend over. Damn. I caught Marcus watching me. His brown eyes had taken on a slightly red flame. I must be hot and I know for a fact that Azrael would not be caught dead in this. I didn’t mind the pants. The shirt was good...the purple corset thing...if we lost it I would go hunting in this. Hairbrush to the pleasure zone. Ooohhh. Relaxation in a wooden handle.

My eyes popped open as strong hands began to massage my feet. “Buttering him up?”

“Who?” Marcus raised an eyebrow at me.

“Azrael.”

“He has done a lot of work today for the brotherhood.”

“Yes he has, and he’s down for the count.”

“Then think of this as a present.”

Sasha was braiding my hair into something utterly stuffy. He seemed in tune with my thoughts, “Fallen, you know that Xavier will have to be at the wake. He was the first to greet the little pup.”

“I know...He’s really sad though.”

“That little pup was like a younger brother to him. He introduced Ping to Haley’s scent.” Marcus began to rub at my feet and work out the tension that Azrael’s dancing had put into them. Ooooh. Nice. I rested and relaxed as Sasha caressed my scalp. The gentle pulling was rather hypnotic. Marcus had a pair of hands on him. Kinky bastard that he was.

/X, my brother...batter up./

There was silence.

/Xavier?/

/I don’t know if I can do this.../

I closed my eyes and found myself on the beach. X was sitting on the beach, his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms around the front of his shins. This was not a normal position for number two since everyone agreed that I was the original. “We have already had the luxury of wallowing in our sorrow, X. Both of us left Az and Little Deadly on their own and look at what they did – Az is now a King. Could you imagine what Skell could be?”

“How can you be so happy?”

I flopped down in the sand. “I’m not happy, X. Don’t you think I’d like to roll around in the sand and tear out my hair and wail? We don’t get to do that now because we’ve all ready taken our time and if you were going to do it you should have done it already. Az picked up the slack. Skell backed him up and did you know that he could share those metal wings?”

“No, but that was rather cool. Edward...” X turned his head and stared at me. “I miss him.”

“I know, bro. So does his wife. So does his pups. So does his Nation. I can be an ass but I don’t mean this in a bad way but, Xavier...you are not the center of the universe. Your pain isn’t the only one what counts here. If you can’t get up, I’ll go back and do the wake but you know as well as I do that it isn’t me that the Puppies are going to need. I’m a playmate. You’re their Lord Alpha. You’re their Benedek.”

X ran a hand down his face. “Treska and Lia are only two months old. How are they going to know him?”

I shifted up to my knees and sand shuffled over to him. I reached an arm over and laid it across his back. “We were lost for seven years, X. How the hell did the winglets know us? Hell Lex came up and called us Papa when we were still drugged out of our gourd. Family did that. Ours and Haleys. So we will do the same thing.” I reached around and pressed a hand against his chest. “Haley may be gone, but he lives on in our hearts. He is not truly gone if you can think of him here.”

Xavier drew a ragged breath. “How the hell did you get to be so damned mature?”

I laid my cheek on his shoulder our red and white hair blending together. “I’m older than you by nine years, X and I grab for the gusto when I’m out. You good?”

“Thanks for the metaphysical kick in the pants.”

I chuckled. “Speaking of pants....you’re going to have fun getting out of them. I’ll be waiting here if you need backup any time tonight.”

I sat back as X unravelled himself and stood up. He looked down at me. His face was still sad but the fire that burned through all of us began to show back in his green eyes. “If you want a week with Claudius, you got my okay.”

“Thanks bro.”

The steady rhythmic pulling of my hair and the steady working of my left foot was almost too much to take in as I stepped into the physical world. The hand dropped away from my foot as soon as I took over. Marcus. Armor wouldn’t have stopped. I opened my eyes and sure enough Marcus knelt on the floor of the car and just watched. We had gotten better over the years, but we were still so careful around each other. “You didn’t have to stop, Marcus.”

“It is better to ask permission, Xavier than to beg for forgiveness from you.” He cured the bite with a gentle smile and he picked my right foot up and began to massage it.

That’s when I realized how damn tight these pants were. These leather pants were. These purple leather pants were. What the hell? What the hell was I wearing? “Father?”

“You but on a little weight, Xavier, since the last time I purchased clothes for Sex. There was precious little time to try it on but it does look fetching.”

My ribs were being squeezed. I was almost encased in leather from head to foot. Not that I didn’t mind Marcus and his foot massage, but I noticed that we were pretty close to the Den. Where were my shoes? “Lycan prefer to be barefoot, my son. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that Haley preferred to be barefoot.”

I let a slow sad smile cross my face. Yeah, Haley went barefoot. I leaned back agains Father and closed my eyes. It seemed to hurt worse once you got back into physical form. This body was tired. So much. It had done so much in twenty four hours. A birthday. A gift of puppies. A death. A challenge. Dancing with Wolves. Now, a wake. I’d never been to a wake. Well, not a Lycan one. Hunter fell in the line of duty all the time. I had been to Hunter wakes growing up. It was akin to police funerals. Mom and Dad had to go and honestly, the Hunters were a big family, they wanted to. It was sad. It was solemn. Deed and good times were remembered and ten everyone went home. You wore your ceremonial regalia to a Hunter wake, or your church black. The fact that we were specifically asked to wear hunting gear and in brighter colors was totally off my chart. I had a feeling that a Lycan wake was something close to a bush party.

“Xavier.” I had dosed for a bit. I blinked and looked out the window. We were driving up to the Den. Lycans of all sorts and sizes and pups and whelps were everywhere. I know that the family was scattered around town and I think we were in about four limos but every Lycan just stopped and stared as the gleaming black cars rolled past. There was a thunk on my back. My hair was loose at the front but very stiff. Claudius slapped my hand as I reached up to feel what the heck he did to my hair. The weighty thunk at my back was a metal cuff that secured a single braid. Since I was to phoenix tonight, Claudius had kyboshed the silver dragon hair cage. It was enough trouble getting it remade the last time I melted it.

I took a good look at my companions. Both of them had changed into hunting gear it was a typical all the way around. Marcus was in a pair of blue jeans. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in jeans. I thought he might have pulled out Armor’s red leather but these looked new. He also had on a lyrca stretchy tee that clung lovingly all over his arms and chest. He had a leather jacket laying on the seat bench beside him. His hair was loose and brushed so it just shone in the fading light of day. He had on tan motorcycle boots and...I met his eyes and he cocked an eyebrow at me. “Armor and I compromised.”

“Nice compromise.”

Claudius was in Sex’s leather fantasy. Holy Moly. “You know, you could have gone commando.”

“Shush.” I looked down at myself. I was Barny. No, I was a deeper purple or I guess a plum. How proper of Claudius to pick out the color of royalty--the Lord Emperor in waiting and the King of the Lycan. Well, at least Azrael was. I moved to get up off my ass but a hand was dropped on my shoulder. “Xavier. Telling you not to grieve would be a terrible thing to say to you. I know that Haley was important to you. He touched all of our lives and made life more lively when he was around us. There are others out there waiting for you and they need you. Part of being a leader is to be strong when the world is crumbling around you. Part of being a father is keeping everyone together when they are lost over the injustice of it all. Being a friend is just being there.”

I hung my head forward. “Did you and Sex plan this pincher movement between you?”

“I have underestimated Sex in the beginning. I do not any more but he still manages to surprise me at least once a day.”

“That he does. Haley was like a brother to me, Father.”

Marcus leaned forward. “He has gifted unto his pack. He has given you his pups to raise and watch over. Haley has always known that his time was short so he took joy in the simplest things every day.” He held out a hand to me. I looked at it for a moment expecting to feel that tiny little jolt of panic but there was nothing this time. I set my palm in his. “He made you Benedek. No matter how the older ones mask it, they have lost their father.”

“I should have....”

Marcus closed his hand and jerked me forward. I slid across the carpet on my ass until I hit the seat with my chest and ended up on my knees. I stiffened up and tried to break free then I looked up...in Armor’s eyes. “This is not your fault.”

“This Serephina was aiming for me.”

“This is NOT your fault.”

“I..” I got rattled around hard enough to crack my teeth together.

“Haley’s death is not your fault. Serephina wasn’t aiming at you. She pointed her weapon at Haley. Turmoil in the Lycan Nation was supposed to open up a warzone. I doubt that her plan was to see Azrael on the throne of the Northern Pack.”

“But..”

Rattle. Rattle. Rattle. Holy moly my brains were going to leak out of my skull. I pulled my arm free and Armor snaked his hands into my hair. He pulled me persistently up towards him until our foreheads were pressed together. His warm chocolate brown eyes were staring at me so intently. “I know you are wounded, little one. But, you need to hear me now. Haley’s death is not your fault. Do you not remember the gift Lanseng gave you yesterday?”

I frowned. Yeah...Lanseng did whisper that to me then I crushed between two giants like so much peanut butter. “Lanseng also told me that there were going to be more children in the House of Von Drachenfeld and that I didn’t need to number among them.”

What?

Armor closed his eyes. “I am still a child when it comes to sharing you, little one. I would like nothing more than to spirit you away and keep you all to myself the way I did when I first found you.”

“There is no way in hell I’m going to back to that first year.”

“Not what I meant. It was just you and me. There have been times, I’ve just wanted to gather you up and disappear.”

That was news to me. “Pretty?”

“This is...as Lex calls it, my bad. I do not act on all my impulses any more. I cannot hide behind the fact that I was only emotionally two years old. I love the life you have built around you. I am grateful to a part of it. Sharing you with others has blossomed you more than I could. Father, Claudia, Callia, Raissa, Lex and Lanseng have made me see that there is more than enough of my little one to go around. Now...we have pups. You shine for the people around you. You will glow even more with the puppies.”

I was beginning to see why Sex wanted a week all to himself...well himself and Father. Sharing took a toll on the brotherhood as well as their mates. “Come here.” I angled my head and closed my eyes offering up my lips. I was nibbled on like a forbidden tasty treat. I brought my hand up and pulled his mouth a little tighter to mine. Armor’s mouth opened as I brushed at his soft warm lips with my tongue. I darted inside tasting the appley goodness. What a shot that was. Hmmmm....ooohhh....pants too tight. I pulled my tongue back and his followed filling my mouth. He nicked his tongue on my fangs and warm blood filled my senses. Apples and Cinnamon. Cin. I sucked on his tongue. A groan erupted from my throat and my head was yanked backwards by the braid. Owwww.

My eyes were beginning to spark with blue flame. I glared at Claudius from my almost upside down position then flowed his finger with my eyes as he pointed out the window. Oh. We were at the Den. Crap.

/That better be your vampire you’re sucking tongues with./

/Azrael! You okay?/

/Sex got me up. I’m exhausted. I can’t do the King thing tonight. If you need help, Sex said he’d do it./

/Thank you, Azrael. Both me and Sex dropped the ball./
/That’s what brothers do, X. Skell and me did fine. You might want to leave him be for a while – Orel Wessel showing up again fucked his head a bit. He’s not a clinger so just let him come back to us when he’s ready./

/Got it. Go rest./

/Listen to Armor. Lanseng has never been wrong about things. His timing might suck but he’s never been wrong./

/I know./

/There’s a difference between knowing and believing, Xavier. Haley isn’t the kind of Lycan that would want you brooding over his death. He would actually find it insulting./

/I know.../

/Give my Marcus a kiss for me. I know he probably wanted me to come out and play but it just isn’t going to happen./

/I’ll tell him that, your Majesty./

/Piss off, Your Excellency./ I heard Azrael laugh and then I was back in the limo.

“Xavier?” Armor ran his thumb down my cheek as he frowned.

I reached up and brushed at his forehead. “You make a face like that and it’ll get stuck that way.” I pressed my lips to his forehead and then sat back and took a deep breath. Well, one good thing about these leather pants, I wasn’t going to be getting an erection any time soon.

“My sons?” I turned and looked back at Claudius. Sexy did know how to pick clothes. “Are we good to go?”

I nodded. Armor blinked then ran his hand down my back and over my ass. His finger tips grazed the cleft all the way down... “I could not forgive myself if I didn’t do that at least once tonight.”

“What, cop a feel?”

“You are just so sleek and pettable.”

“Pettable is not a word.” My voice rose as his hand reversed and trailed back up the other way. “Okay enough stroking the purple butt.”

I was rewarded with a bright smile. “You know I do not do well in crowded situations, so Marcus will be with you tonight.”

“Send him out. Later, Pretty.”

I moved toward the door when I felt another hand on the other side of my ass. What the hell? Is it pet the vampire’s ass day?

“Should I apologize for your clothing selection, Xavier?” Claudius ran his hand down the back of my thigh to my knee. “I do believe that you have but on some muscle since the last time I purchased clothing for Sex. I did pick this out with the brotherhood’s sensibilities it mind, I just did not factor in your weight training. These however are positively sin-inspiring.”

I took Claudius hand and tapped on the knuckles. “Ah...I am not scrapping with Sex because you are intrigued – mainly because he would kick my ass. So, hands to yourself. You too Marcus.”

Marcus hook his fingers into the waistband and pulled me backwards. “You need to make an entrance, Xavier. You are last.” He opened the door and stepped out. The warmth of the day had faded and the dog days of summer were here in full swing. A breeze filled the cabin of the limo with the scents of multitudes of Lycan. Most of it was wet dog.

Claudius climbed out next. The Loyal was around but they didn’t signal anything, so I stepped out after my two main guys. Well three main guys. The front of my hair was gelled into an inch of its life as it stood probably about five inches then fell off to the sides. The entire back from my ears to my nape was braided into one long white tail. Instead of being monochromatic, I was purple and white. Hundreds of eyes were centered on us.

“Smile and wave?” Claudius nodded and raised his hand then stepped back to allow the throng to see me clearly. Marcus moved his mountainous self off to the side as well. The rest of the Von Drachenfelds were pulling up behind us.

Puppies came scrabbling out of the crowd and I turned towards them. I think that’s why I didn’t see it coming. Wham! I got sucker punched in the fangs. It was hard enough that it rocked my head back but I stayed on my feet. The Loyal were ready to tear someone a new ass but I straightened up first. Arashi stood in front of me with her teeth clenched and her fists up ready to punch me again. I raised my hands and the Loyal left her alone.
“You were supposed to take care of him! Why didn’t you take care of him...why?” First Litter, First Rank, Den Mother to be broke down and began to wail. “Why?”

I gathered her in my arms even though she stiffened and tried to pull back. I had blood in my mouth. My own because it was just all cinnamon with no favour mixes. She cried then threw her arms around me and hugged me hard. Here I was playing the drama queen. I had brothers, parts of me who could pick up the slack. Arashi had to stand on her own and help her siblings.
I just pulled her closer and wrapped her in my arms.

Ping came up and stood behind her. Her own face was haggard and sad. Her eyes widened as she saw the blood seep out of the corner of my mouth. I deserved a punch in the mouth. I was a pillar of this family and I had let everyone down. If I crumbled, everyone else would too. “I can’t bring your father back, but I can make those who took him from us pay.”

She sniffled and rubbed her cheek on my chest, scent marking me as well as taking comfort. “Promise me, they all will pay.”

I swallowed the blood in my mouth and licked the blood trail from my skin then I leaned over and kissed her on the temple. “I promise you, Arashi, First Litter, First Born that I will avenge your father’s death. I will kill every last fucking one who raised a hand against him.”

Arashi nodded her head and sniffled a few more times. She looked up at and gave me a smile that so copied her father. She reached up and touched my ear. “I guess you really are our Papa now, Xavier.” She kissed my cheek then moved back to stand with Ping.

What? I lifted my hand and felt the scar on my ear. What the hell!!

Ping’s face lightened for a moment and she smiled. “Hey there husband, are you ready to say good-bye to your little brother?”

Was I ready? No. But in the scheme of things as Sexy had said, I wasn’t the centre of the universe. Treska and Lia were stumbling around my legs. I knelt down and they pressed up against my chest. I knew Claudia was longingly looking at baby fangs but we just turned into the Brady bunch. I gathered the pups in my arms and stood up. “Let’s get this party started.”

* * *