There was a loud bark of laughter on the other end of the line. “Good Lord, you sound just like my wife.”
“And you sound very much alive.”
“Hm. Last I checked, yes.”
Not in the mood for his droll wit, Morgan came away from the wall with a burst of adrenaline and began to pace. “The chatter online in the vampire community is saying you’re dead and we got a cease and desist order from the Elders pulling Hunters out of all territories surrounding New York claiming it had fallen to the angels.”
“A gross exaggeration,” he returned dryly.
Morgan snorted. “Care to elaborate and fill me in on whatever the fuck is going on?”
“I killed the Elder.”
Morgan tripped over her own feet at the unexpected statement bringing her furious back and forth stride to a halt. “I beg your pardon.”
“He came into my territory unannounced, an army with him, with every intention of taking what was mine,” Stroud flatly informed her.
Morgan blinked, her mouth falling open in surprise. There were rules in vampire society. The Born were extremely territorial, thus why there was typically only one Born within a territory unless it was a family group. Any Born entering another’s territory had to have permission to do so. Failure to acquire that permission was seen as an act of war and acted on accordingly, even for an unannounced Elder. But Thane hadn’t saidanElder, he’d said he’d killedtheElder. Christ. Achaeus was dead? The ancient male never left Greece. Ever. What had Thane done that warranted the oldest among them to leave his throne with an army intent on retaliation?
“What did you do?” she whispered, still in shock.
“That’s a rather long story. Suffice it to say that rules were broken on both sides. I just happened to be the one that walked away from the altercation.”
Morgan shook her head, despite Stroud not being able to see her. “And the angels?” she asked. “Is that just a smokescreen the Elders are using to hide the truth?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Thane returned, his voice rife with distaste. “There are currently a number of angels aligned with me, though saying that they are in control is pure fallacy.”
Raising a hand to her forehead, Morgan rubbed at the area that was beginning to twinge with the first hints of a headache as her mind worked through the puzzle of the current order set down by the Elders paired with the information she just learned. With a laugh completely devoid of humor, Morgan shook her head. “They know they can’t touch you with angels at your back, so they plan to make you suffer.”
“How so?”
“By declaring your, and all surrounding territories, off-limits to Hunters, they’ve pretty much rung the dinner bell for any disgruntled vamps. Once word gets out, those states will be flooded with no one to help round up the rogues and contain the situation. The Born in those territories will be forced to redistribute their people to the task, depleting their assets and at the same time alienating any Born that might have allied with you thanks to the trouble you’ve stirred up for them. They’ll be begging the Elders to step in and fix things. Devious.”
Thane let out a beleaguered sigh. “I guess that means I better start working on damage control. Thank you for the heads up, Morgan.”
“I’m just glad to hear your voice, Thane. You had me worried,” she replied with a soft smile before what he had said earlier finally clicked in her brain. “And congratulations on your marriage. I hadn’t heard. What territory is she from? The alliance might prove beneficial in this mess.”
“She’s not Born. My Margot was turned.”
The news both was and wasn’t a surprise. While most Born tended to marry within their own kind to strengthen their holdings as well as propagate the line, Thane Stroud had never been typical – the very reason why he had been so attractive to Morgan in the first place. “I’m happy for you,” she said sincerely.
“And you, Morgan?” Thane asked. “How are you?”
They spoke for a few more minutes, Morgan sharing some of her best Hunter stories and what she liked to call her blooper reel of rogue fails before she offered, “Thane if you need help from me and my team, we will. Fuck the Elders and their bullshit order. Just say the word and we’re there for you.”
Thane let out a chuckle. “You do need to come and meet my wife. She’ll absolutely adore you, but as for your offer, while appreciated, I think it best if only one of us is in hot water with the Court of Elders.”
“If you change your mind…”
“I’ll call you. And Morgan, it was good to hear your voice too.”
Chapter Three
“There’s an open contract listed for Big Jim Jerky’s territory,” Jamie was telling Kane with no small amount of amusement as Morgan returned to their room.
“Oh, hell no,” was Kane’s immediate snarling response which came as no surprise to Morgan. James Theodore Fletcher, aka Big Jim, or as Jamie liked to refer to the Born vampire that held the massive sprawl of Texas, Big Jim Jerky, was Kane’s loud, brash, domineering father.
Typically, a son of one of the territory-holding Born would be given his own section within that territory to rule. A sort of trial by fire. Unfortunately for Kane, however, who was the youngest of eight boys in the Fletcher brood, all of the currently divided sectors were held by his older brothers. Big Jim’s grand idea once Kane had come of age was to have his boys fight it out, said section being fought over going to the winner. A rather archaic and blood-thirsty way in Morgan’s opinion. Regardless, Kane had refused, left Texas, joined the Hunters, and hadn’t looked back since.
