Lynn Hagen Christian's Coven 3 Eli's Way

Christian’s Coven 3

Eli’s Way

Eli was whipped and bitten until he no longer resembled a human
being. He wakes to a world of vampires he never knew existed

and a society he isn't sure he's cut out to live in. He fights his new
life, refusing to feed and refusing to admit he has feelings for one
large vampire.

Jersey, bodyguard for the young prince Yasuko, has finally found
his mate. What should have been a joyous occasion is instead

becoming a hard road to travel. Eli fights him every step of the
way until Jersey and his brother, Buck, show Eli another side to

who he has become.

Helping Eli face his new life is only one of the many things Jersey

has challenging him. Mallon, the elder who was responsible for
Eli's kidnapping and torture, refuses to leave Eli alone, coming
after him time and again.

Can Jersey help Eli cope with his new life while keeping the ex-
elder from coming after his mate, or will Jersey lose Eli to his

insecurities and the crazy Mallon?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal,
Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 37,766 words

ELI’S WAY

Christian’s Coven 3

Lynn Hagen

EVERLASTING CLASSIC

MANLOVE

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove

ELI’S WAY
Copyright © 2012 by Lynn Hagen
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-374-2

First E-book Publication: February 2012

Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
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www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

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ELI’S WAY

Christian’s Coven 3

LYNN HAGEN

Chapter One

Jersey roared as his fist hit the concrete wall, indignation filling

him as his blood boiled over. He had been so close to catching
Mallon, the sadistic elder who now had a price on his head.

The same elder who had allowed and participated in the torture of

his mate.

Jersey had found out from Eli that it might have been the ghouls

who had bitten his mate until his flesh resembled chewed meat.
Which was horrific enough, but it had been Mallon who had whipped
every inch of Eli’s body out of pure sadistic pleasure. He wanted that
bastard dead yesterday.

“How the hell does he keep getting away?” Christo, the prince’s

second-in-command, asked in frustration.

Twirling the serrated knife in his hand, Jersey sheathed it as he

turned toward Christo. “Take me to my mate,” he said as he glanced
around the cavernous room. “Fuck Mallon. He’ll slip up, and when he
does, I’ll be there to cut his fucking head off.”

Christo grimaced as he disseminated them back to the club,

straight into Christian’s office. Jersey didn’t care how graphic his
words were. The bastard was dead when he got a hold of him. He
quickly crossed the room, taking a seat on the floor next to the couch

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where Eli slept. His mate did a lot of sleeping since being found in
Mallon’s home, broken and near death.

Christian told him that Eli had suffered greatly, and although the

vampiric blood in him was healing Jersey’s mate, Eli needed time.
Jersey would give him that and more.

His mate looked so peaceful lying there with his eyes closed and

his lips slightly parted. Jersey had been afraid to move him to the
manor. He felt it best to have Jimmy, Eli’s best friend, around when
Eli woke because Jersey hadn’t a clue what to do once that happened.
Besides, Eli looked too content lying there, and Jersey didn’t want to
disturb him.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Christo said as he quietly closed the

office door behind him.

Jersey ran his hands over Eli’s soft brown hair, wishing his mate

was awake and talking. He had listened closely as Eli talked for the
few minutes he was awake shortly after his conversion, but his voice
had been gravelly and rough.

His heart began to pound harder behind his ribs when Eli’s eyes

fluttered and then his head turned. Eli was looking Jersey directly in
his eyes.

Jersey couldn’t breathe.
His mate’s eyes were stunning as he lay there watching Jersey.

The hazel green roamed over Jersey’s body and then locked onto
Jersey’s eyes.

“Hi,” he said lamely as he fought for something intelligent to say.

Eli said nothing in return as his eyes began to roam around the room.
He looked lost and confused as his eyes finally settled on Jersey once
more. Licking his lips, Eli’s brows drew together in a questioning
gesture.

“Who are you?” he whispered, his voice still not up to par.
Jersey’s thumb traced the shell of Eli’s ear as he offered Eli a

gentle smile. “Jersey.” God, his mate was unbelievably gorgeous,
even in his current condition. “Just rest,” he tacked on.

Eli’s Way

Eli swallowed a few times, tears glistening in his eyes. “Those

men…”

Jersey had to bite back the growl that threatened to rip from his

chest. It wouldn’t do any good to scare his mate right now, but the
thought of anyone harming his mate made him feel violent. “Those
men can’t hurt you anymore, Eli.” He would make damn sure that
Mallon never came near Eli again.

No one was getting near Eli. His brother, Buck, had been in to

check on Eli a few times, along with Jimmy and Nija, but Jersey
wouldn’t allow anyone else to see his mate.

Well, except for the prince and his mates, but they didn’t count.

They were in a strange class all by themselves. Jersey leaned in
closer, carefully checking Eli’s wounds, seeing that they were slowly
healing.

It wasn’t the outside wounds that Jersey worried about, but the

mental screw Mallon and those ghouls put Eli through that worried
him most. Those were the scars that would take the longest to heal.

“You’re healing,” Jersey said for conversation as he pulled Eli’s

shirt back into place. He felt a little odd talking to someone he’d
never met before about something as personal as his wounds.

Eli nodded, glancing over at Jersey. He had hesitation in his eyes,

as if he wanted to ask Jersey something but was afraid to. Jersey
caught on quick. There was only one thing Eli could want right now.
“Thirsty?”

Jersey watched as Eli’s tongue flicked out. The pink appendage

flowed across his bottom lip as he nodded. Standing, Jersey lifted his
mate up gently, settling Eli on his lap as he sat on the couch and tilted
his head to the side, baring his neck. “Bite me.”

Eli’s eyes widened as he shrank back in Jersey’s arms, shaking his

head rapidly back and forth. Jersey rolled his eyes, tapping his fingers
over his jugular vein. “Right there, go on, you won’t hurt me.”

“I–I can’t bite you.”

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Jersey snorted as a chuckle fell from his lips. “You had no

problem when you were turned.” Eli had tried to drink Jersey dry
when he first woke up after his conversion. It was the best moment of
his life. To be able to feed one’s mate was something vampires prided
themselves on. It was an honor among his race. He knew his mate
wouldn’t remember feeding from him. Eli was too out of it at the
time.

Eli’s brows pulled down into a frown as he looked up at Jersey in

confusion. He could understand that Eli knew nothing about the
vampire world, and Jersey felt honored to teach his mate everything
he needed to know. “Turned?”

Oh crap. He wanted to teach Eli, but now wasn’t the time. His

mate needed to feed first before he wigged out. Jersey was hoping to
wait for that disaster until his mate was well fed. That way if Eli
freaked out, at least he’d be full.

There was nothing worse than freaking out on an empty stomach.
Jersey ignored his mate’s one-word question as he tapped at his

vein again in an attempt to get Eli to feed. The more often his mate
fed, the quicker his wounds would heal. Jersey honestly didn’t care
that Eli held the marks of being attacked, but his mate might care
what other people thought of him.

The marks were visible, running the course of his body, including

down his arms and around his neck and face. Jersey didn’t want
anyone staring at his mate as if he were a freak. “Bite me.”

“I’m not sure if I should bite you or if you’re insulting me,” Eli

stated matter-of-factly, which only made his mate’s resistance all the
more comical as Jersey boomed with laughter. He hoped that was
Eli’s true personality coming out because the guy was funny.

“Believe me, I’m not insulting you.” He guessed he’d hesitate as

well if, after being tortured, he woke in a strange place to a stranger
telling him to bite me. Jersey fished around in his pocket, flipping his
phone open and dialing Nija.

Eli’s Way

“I need your mate in here,” he said and then hung up. Maybe Eli’s

best friend, Jimmy, could help his mate feel a little more comfortable
about his new surroundings and feeding. Although Jersey didn’t like
the fact that he needed help with his mate.

“Coming in,” Jimmy shouted from the other side of the door but

didn’t attempt to open it. Jersey rolled his eyes. Like he was fucking
Eli as soon as he woke up.

Not even he was that crass, although his cock had other ideas

about what it should be doing right now with Eli sitting square on his
lap as his tight little ass wiggled around. He tried not to think about it,
he really did, but Eli was making it hard not to.

He was making it hard, period.
Jersey waited. When Jimmy didn’t enter, he shouted, “Get your

ass in here.”

Jimmy opened the door, peeking his head in and looking over at

the couch. When he saw that Jersey and Eli were still dressed, he
walked in with a huge smile on his face. “You rang?”

“Jimmy?” Eli said in shock and then wiggled some more. Jersey

was going to come in his pants if his mate didn’t sit the fuck still.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as he quickly leapt from
Jersey’s lap and took a seat next to him.

Damn it. His cock was quite content at where Eli had been sitting,

even if the wiggling had been driving him nuts.

“You’re awake,” Jimmy said as he grinned, stopping short in front

of the couch. “You had me worried, man.”

Eli looked from Jimmy to Jersey, scooting a few more inches

from Jersey as he looked at Jimmy nervously. “Where am I?”

“Well, now, that’s a very long story,” Jimmy replied as he pointed

both index fingers at Eli and then glanced at Jersey. “One I think
someone else should explain to you.”

Jersey gave a low growl, jerking his head toward Eli. Jimmy

threw his hands up, shaking his head. “No way. He may be my best

Lynn Hagen

friend, but he’s your mate. I’ve seen him pissed. Let him kick your
ass.”

Jersey leaned his head back, running his hand down his face as he

let out a sigh. He knew Jimmy was right, but he still wanted to kick
his skinny ass for putting him on the spot.

He wanted to be the one to tell Eli, but in his mate’s eyes, he was

a stranger.

Jersey wasn’t too sure how well it would go over to tell Eli he was

a vampire now. He knew the man didn’t remember much from the
first time he was awake. The feeding had taken front seat and driven
any other questions out of Eli’s head. But now his mate would have a
clear mind.

Clear enough to ask questions before he fed.
“He’s cool, Eli. Jersey will explain everything to you. And if you

need me, I’m right down the hall,” Jimmy said as he winked at Jersey
and then practically ran from the room, slamming the door behind
him.

Jersey glanced over at his mate to see Eli eyeing him suspiciously.

He felt as though he was about to tell the guy he was being sacrificed
to a den of lions. Which was odd since Jersey loved being a vampire,
even though he was only a half-breed.

“You’re a vampire,” he blurted out and then tapped his neck

again. “Now bite me.”

Eli jumped from the couch, backing away as his head snapped

around and his eyes looked as though they were going to pop from his
head. “I’m a what?”

“Vein drainer, now bite me.” Geez, how hard was he going to

make feeding? They didn’t need to go into an in-depth conversation
until Eli fed and Jersey fucked him until his name was permanently
stuck on Eli’s lips.

What was so complicated about that?

Eli’s Way

Eli shot to the door, snatching it open so roughly that it smacked

against the wall and bounced back, hitting Eli on his ass. That didn’t
stop his mate or even slow him down as Eli raced out of the office.

“Fuck!” Jersey shouted as he jumped from the couch and gave

chase.

He didn’t want anyone near Eli until he claimed him, and not even

after that. Okay, Jersey was a little possessive, so damn what? He
never claimed to be right in the head.

Jersey growled when he lost sight of his mate in the throng of

bodies writhing on the dance floor. With the laser lights bouncing
everywhere and the lighting low, Jersey had to concentrate to find Eli.
He could see well in the dark, but with this many people, he had to
take extra time.

Fuck it.
Jersey began to knock people out of his way, bowling some over

as he looked for his mate. He spotted Eli racing for the front door,
forcing his way through the throng of humans. Jersey roared as he
pushed everyone in his path away from him. He lifted his hand,
pointing to Eli and then shaking his head at Harley.

The door mind scrubber and bouncer looked his way and gave a

nod right before he stepped into Eli’s path, placing a hand on Eli’s
shoulder and shaking his head.

Okay, even though he told Harley to stop Eli from leaving, he was

going to kick the guy’s ass for touching Eli. Humans ran away from
Jersey as he stalked toward the front door, determination filling him
as he saw Eli look around with a terrified expression on his face. Even
Harley backed away from Jersey, but not enough to allow Eli to pass.

“Mine!” Jersey roared so loudly that his voice drowned out the

club music. People stopped dancing to watch the large vampire go
after his mate as if it were some sort of hypnotic dance that they
couldn’t take their eyes off of. Jersey approached Eli, gently grabbing
his mate around his waist and hauling him off of his feet.

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“Whoa,” Jimmy said as he ran over to the door. “Calm down, big

guy.”

“Mine!” Jersey roared again as he looked around at anyone who

just might be stupid enough to challenge his claim. His chest was
heaving as he felt his eyes shift to a deep crimson.

His mate had tried to run, and that only made Jersey’s protective

instincts kick in stronger. Nobody, not even Eli himself, was going to
take his mate from him.

“What do I do?” Eli asked Jimmy as he held tightly to Jersey’s

arm. Jersey knew he was overreacting, but he couldn’t find it in
himself to calm down at this very moment. “What the hell is he going
to do to me?”

“No sudden moves,” Jimmy warned as he scratched his head and

then shrugged. “Just go limp in his arms or something. Curl into the
fetal position if you can. He won’t hurt you.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Eli shouted as he pointed up at

Jersey. “Do you see him?”

Jersey gave a low growl in Jimmy’s direction, which made the

guy’s mate, Nija, hiss, his fangs bared and ready for business as he
pushed Jimmy behind him. “Calm down or I swear I’m going to fuck
you up,” Nija threatened.

Jersey began to calm when he felt Eli calm down. He knew it was

Nija’s presence that was making Eli relax and he didn’t like it. The
two had some strange bond for the simple fact that it was Nija who
had converted Eli, but he still didn’t have to like it. Jersey wanted that
bond with his mate. Maybe it was jealousy, but he didn’t really care at
the moment.

Pulling his mate closer to his chest, Jersey glanced around the

club. He saw Christian standing on the second-floor balcony,
watching the scene below, a slight smirk on his face. Jersey blinked a
few times, trying his best to rein in his anger.

The last thing he needed was to get kicked out of the coven for

acting like a total caveman and have no protection for his mate.

Eli’s Way

He wasn’t sure if he had harmed any humans in his desperation

and anger, but he knew Christian wasn’t going to allow anyone to be
hurt while they were here partying in his club.

“I have this,” Buck, Jersey’s brother, said as he pushed the crowd

away. “Come on, little bro. Let’s get your mate in the office and away
from everyone.”

Jersey growled. He hated when Buck talked to him like he was a

little kid. He was a pissed-off vampire, not a five-year-old throwing a
tantrum. Jersey glanced around one last time before following his
brother, holding Eli tight as he walked back down the hallway.

“Go have a seat. It seems your mate needs things explained to

him,” Buck said as soon as they cleared the doorway to the office.

Jersey took a seat on the couch, feeling his common sense slowly

return. Buck moved into the room as Nija and Jimmy entered,
Christian, along with his mates, coming in lastly and closing the door
behind them.

Jersey’s charge, Yasuko, carried his son over to the desk and took

a seat, Minsheng taking a stance behind him as Christian leaned
against the desk, placing himself between the room and his mates.

“Trust me, I don’t need intervention,” Jersey said to the room as

he held Eli close. “I’m cool. I just got a little psycho, but I’m much
better now.”

Buck snorted as he tossed a hand toward Eli. “Then why is your

mate turning red?”

Jersey quickly loosened his grip, cursing himself and his strength.

Eli struggled to get free, but Jersey only loosened his hold slightly.
His mate wasn’t getting another chance to run anywhere.

“You were kidnapped and tortured, Eli,” Christian started. Jersey

wanted to cover his mate’s ears and spare Eli the sordid details, but he
knew in order for his mate to heal from the inside, he needed to face
everything that had happened to him. As much as he wanted to protect
his mate, the details of the event needed to be relived. “You were very
close to death so the decision was made to convert you.”

Lynn Hagen

“By who?” Eli said angrily as he pushed at Jersey’s arms. “I

didn’t ask for this.”

“I decided,” Jimmy answered as he stepped forward, a grim

determination in his eyes. “You are my best friend, and I wasn’t going
to lose you.”

“You’re one of them?” Eli asked incredulously as he stopped

fighting to get free and just sat there in Jersey’s arms.

Jimmy nodded. “Yep, and so are you. I’m sorry I took the choice

from you, but I wasn’t going to lose my best friend.”

“You had no right!” Eli shouted at Jimmy. “This isn’t normal.

You should have let me die!”

“Would you have let me die?” Jimmy shouted back as he stabbed

a finger at his chest and then pointed it close to Eli. “No, you would
have done whatever it took to save me. I know you, Eli, so don’t lie to
me.”

Eli grew silent as he sulked in Jersey’s lap. Jersey ran his hand up

Eli’s back, cupping the nape of his mate’s neck as he fought the
growl. He didn’t like anyone talking to his mate like that, best friend
or not.

“You are a part of our coven now, under our protection,” Christian

stated. “Welcome, Eli.”

“Thank you,” Eli replied begrudgingly.
Jersey was relieved that his mate hadn’t cursed the prince out. He

might not be right in the head, but even Jersey wasn’t that brave or
psychotic to disrespect the prince. He gave his mate’s nape a light
squeeze, trying his best to reassure him that everything was going to
be okay.

“I don’t understand any of this,” Eli confessed.
“You will. Let Jersey show you the ways of our people,” Christian

said as he stood, his mates following suit. Yasuko gave Jersey a small
wave as he carried his son, Minzhe, from the room, his mates close at
his side.

Eli’s Way

Nija and Jimmy stayed behind as Jimmy looked over at Eli sadly.

“I’m sorry you hate me for this, but it was my call, and I chose to
keep you around in my life for a little while longer.”

Eli sighed as he glanced up at Jimmy. “I don’t hate you. I’m just

confused.”

“If you need me, I’m bartending.”
This made Eli smile. “Just can’t stay away from that profession,

can you?”

Jimmy chuckled as he shook his head. “I guess not.” Jimmy and

his mate left the office, leaving Jersey as the only one to talk to Eli
now. He felt slightly awkward after his outburst and the way he had
handled Eli running from him. Jersey wasn’t sure what to say, but he
knew Eli needed answers.

* * * *

Staring at the door that his best friend had just walked out of, Eli

sat there nervous as hell at being left alone with the large vampire. He
was slightly intimidated that he was sitting on a vampire’s lap, but
what made him really nervous was the fact that the man was making
every dark desire in him rear its ugly head.

He had kept those desires hidden from the public eye, but Jersey

was making Eli wish for things he knew he could never have.

Bad things, perverse things.
Things his father would kill Eli over if he ever found out.
He glanced around the lavish office, trying his best to get his

thundering heart back under control. He wasn’t supposed to like
sitting on the man’s lap, any man’s lap for that matter. Eli knew this,
but his cock had a mind of its own as it stood up and took notice.

He tried to clear his throat, but a tight feeling was clawing its way

up and wrapping around his esophagus, making it hard to breathe. He
was thirsty as hell, but wasn’t sure what he was thirsty for. Well,

Lynn Hagen

since he was a vampire, it had to be blood, and that just grossed him
out completely.

“Are you thirsty?” Jersey stole the thoughts from Eli as the large

hand stayed clamped on Eli’s neck. Was he afraid Eli would take off
again? The thought had crossed his mind to run from this madness,
but to where? It wasn’t like he could go home again. And didn’t that
just mess with his head?

“My parents,” Eli said aloud. How was he going to explain all of

this to his mother and father? Was he allowed to see them again? “Am
I banned from them now?”

“No,” Jersey answered as his fingers lazily played over Eli’s neck,

making his cock grow by leaps and bounds. “But you can only visit
them when it’s dark out, and you can’t allow your fangs to show.”

Eli nodded. At least he was allowed to still visit them. Sadness

washed over him as he sat there. His life had taken a bizarre turn, and
he wasn’t sure where he fit into it anymore. He had had a life, a job,
and a family. Now he had…nothing.

“Do you mind if I lie down?” he asked Jersey. He wasn’t even

sure where he lived now. He was quite certain he wouldn’t be allowed
to go back to his apartment.

Jersey scooted over, lifting Eli from his lap and laying him on the

couch, situating Eli’s head on the vampire’s lap. He didn’t argue. Eli
didn’t have the energy to argue right now. He was so damn tired.
Even his erection started to diminish.

“Rest. I won’t leave you.”
And that was what Eli was afraid of. He was in the closet, afraid

to step out and announce his preference for men. He had a feeling
Jersey was going to blow the door right off of the hinges, shedding
light on his depravities. His father had bashed gay men, talking about
them as if they were all perverted sluts, the devil’s creation.

Eli closed his eyes. He’d worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Right

now he was being pulled into slumber. He yawned and then turned
over, curling up as he rested his eyes. He wanted Jersey to think he

Eli’s Way

was asleep so he would have time to try and sort it all out in his head,
but the longer he lay there, the more confusing his life seemed.

What was he going to do about a job now? He couldn’t be out in

daylight. Could he? Eli realized he knew nothing about his new life.
Could he eat garlic? Would holy water burn him? Would the sun
make him burst into flames? Could he convert people by biting them?

He didn’t even want to think about biting someone.
Eli was getting a headache the longer he thought about his new

life, so he just shut his brain down as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Lynn Hagen

Chapter Two

Jersey pushed aside the throng of humans as he barreled his way

through the club, walking behind his mate as the short man made his
way toward the bar. He didn’t like the fact that Eli was out in the
public, but he couldn’t hold him prisoner.

Well, he could but…
“Get that away from me.” Eli scowled at the cup of blood in

Jersey’s hand. “I’m not drinking it.”

Jersey grabbed the glass in time before it tumbled from his hands.

He was getting really tired of Eli knocking the wineglass from his
hand every time he tried to give him one.

He was also starting to get worried. With his mate refusing to

feed, his skin was gaunt and sunken looking. It had a wan appearance
that should be beautiful, but his lack of blood robbed him of that. He
looked more gray than white.

And that was only compounded with the fact that his mate had

multiple bite wounds and whip marks all over his body that refused to
heal from his attack because Eli wouldn’t feed. Jersey was at his wit’s
end. “If you don’t drink, you’ll eventually die, Eli.”

“That’s better than living like a freak!” Eli shot back, venom

lacing his words as he scowled at Jersey. “I didn’t ask for this. You
should have let me die in the first place. I’m a vampire now. What
kind of bullshit is that?”

Jersey sat the glass down carefully on the bar as he counted to ten.

It seemed like no matter what he said to Eli, the man wouldn’t listen
to reason. It was like he had a hard-on for death or something. The
ghouls had broken various parts of his body, bit damn near every inch

Eli’s Way

of his flesh, and then Eli was whipped like he was an out-of-control
dog, left for dead in that cavern, but his mate had survived. That was
what Eli needed to focus on.

He was fucking alive.
“If you don’t drink this, I’m going to tape your ass down and stick

a damn IV in you.” To hell with Eli’s wishes. Jersey was not about to
lose his mate. Being alone sucked, and he refused to be alone just
because his mate rejected his new life.

“Give me a damn whiskey,” Eli shouted as he slapped the bar with

the palm of his hand. Winston, the bartender, cocked his brow at
Jersey. Fine, since his mate wanted to learn the hard way. Jersey
nodded toward Winston.

“Don’t look at him for approval. I’m my own man. Give me the

damn drink,” Eli shot at Winston after cutting his hazel eyes at Jersey.

Jersey counted to twenty, breathing out slowly as Winston bristled

at Eli’s indignant tone. If he didn’t get his mate to stop snapping and
growling at everyone who came near him, the coven was going to
hang him by his balls out in the sun to teach him a lesson.

Not really, but they sure would be pissed. He didn’t want his

mate’s new life to start out by Jersey saving Eli from a mob of angry
vampires. He was large and tough, but not even Jersey could take on
an entire coven.

Eli downed the whiskey and then spewed it across the bar,

missing Winston but spraying Vincent.

“Fucking hum—” Vincent cut his words short as he glared at Eli.

The vampire knew if he stepped a toe out of line that Christian would
annihilate him. The vampire had caused so many problems with Nija
and Jimmy and thought humans were nothing more than a herd of
blood donors. This was his last chance before Christian dealt him a
death hand. Vincent wiped down the front of his shirt with a bar rag
as he mumbled quietly to himself. Jersey did feel bad for what his
mate had done, but he ignored Vincent as he looked over at his mate
with narrowed eyes.

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“What the hell are you doing, Eli?” Jimmy asked as he walked

behind the bar. “You can’t drink that crap anymore.”

That wasn’t entirely true. A vampire could acquire a taste for

other things to drink along with blood, but it took years and Eli was
newly converted.

So whiskey was out of the question.
Eli slammed the glass tumbler down onto the worn wood as he

glared at each man separately and then locked eyes with Jersey.
“What the fuck can I do?”

Oh, that was one hell of a loaded question if Jersey had ever heard

one. There were plenty of comebacks floating around in his skull, but
he refrained from ticking the list off. Some were erotic as hell while
others weren’t so damn polite.

“If you stopped fighting your new life so much and drank some

crimson, you’d feel a hell of a lot better,” Jimmy said as he slid a
wineglass of blood toward Eli. Jersey wasn’t too sure about his mate
drinking the crimson Jimmy made. The guy was newly converted
himself, and although he used to be a bartender, mixing crimson was
tricky.

So far half the coven ran from Jimmy every time he made a glass.

It was that bad. He had to give Jimmy credit, though. He kept on
trying.

Jersey just wished Eli would try a little harder at acclimating to

his new life.

“I told you that I’m not drinking that shit,” Eli blustered as he

knocked the glass over, the red liquid spreading across the bar and
then beginning to drip onto the floor. “Fuck vampires, fuck ghouls,
and fuck the entire world!”

Jersey growled low, counting to thirty as he bent at the waist and

picked Eli up, tossing the man over his shoulder as he walked toward
Christian’s office.

Eli’s Way

He had to get his mate out of there before someone pulverized Eli,

and then Jersey would have to kill whoever pulverized his mate. It
was a sticky situation dealing with Eli.

“Put me down, you big brute!”
Jersey smacked Eli across one lone butt cheek as he entered

Christian’s office. “I’m sorry I smacked you, but you left me no
choice,” Jersey pointed out as he set his mate on his feet and then
closed the office door. “Now, am I going to have to smack your
bottom again, or are you going to act like you have some damn
sense?”

Eli shot him a challenging glare as he fisted his hands at his sides.

“I double-dog dare you to even think about smacking anything on me
again!”

Jersey ran his hands over his hair, ready to pull each and every

strand out as he wondered what to do with his willful mate. It was like
trying to pull teeth from a damn lion. How could he make Eli see
things differently? The man saw the world his way and refused to
even consider any other option.

Eli was still thinking like a human. If he didn’t embrace his new

life soon, Eli was going to wither away. Jersey felt powerless at the
moment, something he wasn’t used to.

He counted to forty and then took a deep and cleansing breath.

“Fine, don’t drink the crimson, don’t watch how you treat others, and
don’t bother calling for me when you’re too weak to hold your own
damn dick to take a piss,” Jersey bellowed as he stormed back out of
Christian’s office, slamming the door so hard behind him that the
walls rattled.

Jersey turned, punching his fist into the wall, and then leaned his

head against it, wishing his mate wasn’t acting like a…a man who had
gone through something horrific.

He sighed, realizing that he was only adding to Eli’s situation with

his temper. This whole situation was fucked, and Jersey wasn’t
making it any easier on his mate. No matter how much Eli fought

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him, he knew his mate was being combative from fear. He needed to
have a little more patience with the guy.

Cracking the door open, Jersey ducked his head in to see Eli

balled up on the couch, his face buried in his hands. Now didn’t he
feel like a grand bastard? Jersey pushed the door open and stepped
into the office, leaning against the door as he closed it softly.

He watched Eli for a long time, but his mate never looked up to

acknowledge that he was aware that Jersey was standing there. He
stared down at the floor, confused as he wondered what he should do.

Eli had been nothing but prickly ever since he was told that he

was now a vampire and had to drink blood. His mate reluctantly drank
from him when he was first told by Christian that he was a vampire.
That only made two times that Eli had drunk from him, and Jersey
wasn’t sure how to get him to feed regularly.

Jersey crossed the room, taking a seat on the couch next to Eli’s

curled form. He wanted to reach out, but he wasn’t sure how receptive
his mate would be.

“It’s not like I’m trying to be a prick,” Eli whispered, sounding

wounded and lost. Jersey wasn’t sure what to say to that. Somehow
you’ve been a total dick didn’t sound right in his own head. He kept
forgetting to take into account everything that Eli had been through.

Jersey’s emotions rode him strong every time Eli bristled. His

defenses went up, and Jersey was ready to fight. But fighting his mate
wasn’t going to win him a damn thing except a lonely bed and heart.

Reaching over, Jersey picked Eli up and sat him in his lap as he

wrapped his arms around his mate. He exhaled loudly as he tucked
Eli’s head under his chin. “I have no idea what you went through,” he
started. “All I see are the scars that were left behind. I’m here to help
you in any way I can, but fighting me on this isn’t going to solve
anything.”

Eli nodded his head. “I’m scared. I don’t know anything about

being a vampire, about this life.”

Eli’s Way

That was the first time his mate had let his guard down, allowing

Jersey to see some small part of his pain. “Then let me show you. Can
you do that?”

Eli took a deep breath and then let it out, almost as if he were

contemplating his answer. He shrugged his shoulders as he fiddled
with his hands in his lap. “Can I drink from you? I don’t like drinking
unknown blood from that cup.”

Fuck yeah!
Jersey cleared his throat, trying not to sound too excited. He was

just being asked to be a donor, not rock Eli’s world. Besides, his mate
was vulnerable right now, and Jersey wasn’t going to take advantage
of that.

“If that’s what you want,” he said, trying his best to downplay his

anticipation of Eli drinking from him.

God, his cock was getting hard just thinking about Eli sucking

blood from his vein. He reminded himself once again that Eli wasn’t
ready for anything more, but he couldn’t help the reaction of his body.
Eli wiggled around, making Jersey forget what he had just been
thinking.

Could they have sex while Eli drank from him? It was on the tip

of his tongue to ask, but Jersey didn’t want to push his mate too far.

They were making progress.
No need to scare the hell out of him.
He had all the time in the world to explore Eli’s short, compact

body once his mate accepted him and his new life. Right now it was
about getting his mate to heal his wounds properly.

When Eli didn’t move any closer to his neck, Jersey took matters

into his own hands and pulled his mate up his chest, tilting his head at
the same time. He pressed his hand into the back of Eli’s head,
coaxing him to move in closer.

Jersey shuddered when Eli’s soft lips grazed his skin, skimming

over his neck, teasing it slowly. He knew Eli wasn’t doing it on
purpose, but his cock didn’t know the difference. He was dying to tear

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their clothes off and bury his dick deeply into Eli’s ass, but Jersey
held back, waiting to see what Eli would do next.

If his mate gave the green light, Jersey wasn’t going to hesitate at

ripping his clothes off and fucking him into unconsciousness.

“I can’t,” Eli said as he began to pull away.
“Just bite, don’t think,” Jersey instructed his mate, pressing Eli’s

head closer to his neck. He was about to explode just from the
anticipation alone. His cock was throbbing painfully, waiting,
wanting, praying.

He shivered when Eli’s fangs scraped his neck, but they didn’t

sink in. Jersey was about to go nuts. “Bite me,” he said as he
swallowed hard. “Just bite me.”

* * * *

Eli tried his best to shut his brain down.
Just bite, don’t think.
That was easier said than done. He inhaled deeply, taking in the

masculine scent, and then pressed his fangs into Jersey’s neck, feeling
the warmth of the vampire’s blood as it splashed into his mouth.

The hunger that had been clawing its way inside of him roared to

life as he drank greedily.

Eli couldn’t seem to get enough.
He feared the metallic taste would return, but the blood pouring

from Jersey’s neck was sweet and addictive, tasting like the sweetest
wine. Eli began to gag as the blood became too much. He was
drinking way too fast, but Eli couldn’t seem to help himself. He was
starving, and Jersey’s blood was what his body had been craving. The
more he drank, the less his stomach hurt.

“Slow down. It’s not going anywhere,” Jersey said raggedly as his

hand pressed harder into the back of Eli’s head. “Take your time.”

Eli breathed through his nose as he swallowed what was in his

mouth and then began to take slower, smaller drafts. The perfect,

Eli’s Way

sweet muskiness of Jersey’s skin was intoxicating. Eli no longer
thought about the aspect of drinking as much as he was focusing on
his raging hard-on.

He’d give anything to have Jersey fuck him senseless right about

now. But he couldn’t think like that. Those were dark thoughts that
needed to stay in the closet. He usually snuck to have his desires
sated, but Jimmy was in the club. He didn’t want his best friend to
know how depraved he truly was.

Eli knew Jimmy was gay, but that didn’t count. Jimmy had been

his best friend since forever and he didn’t look at the man any
differently.

He, on the other hand, had a father who had made it quite clear

that gay men were perverts and devils. Eli couldn’t help but feel that
way as he sat in Jersey’s lap.

Eli wasn’t blind. He could see other male couples around, but he

was so used to hiding his needs that it was hard to just let go.

He pulled his groin slightly away, not wanting Jersey to feel how

the feeding was affecting him. He placed the palms of his hands on
Jersey’s chest, keeping their bodies inches apart as he swallowed the
sweet-tasting blood.

Eli wanted to groan when Jersey placed his free hand on his

bottom, but moaning would be wrong. When Eli felt one of Jersey’s
fingers smooth over his skin just above his waistband, he yanked his
fangs free, breathing hard and fast.

“Shit, lick the wound closed before I bleed to death,” Jersey

shouted as his hand swung up to his neck, blood pouring from
between his fingers.

Eli’s eyes widened as he leaned forward just as Jersey moved his

hand aside. His tongue lapped over the wound repeatedly until he saw
the blood slow to a trickle and then stop altogether. He sat there
stunned at what he had just done.

“You can’t yank away like that, Eli. You could have torn my

damn jugular out.”

Lynn Hagen

Eli pushed away from Jersey, sitting on the side of the couch as he

pulled his legs close to his body from embarrassment and to hide his
erection. “I’m sorry.”

Jersey confused him. The man looked very powerful, his chest

broad and muscular. He was a massive, self-confident presence that
made Eli’s deepest desires spring forth.

What confused Eli the most was this place. Wherever he was, the

people, or vampires, didn’t seem to care that Jersey was all over him.
It seemed to cater to a person’s dark and depraved side. It was as if
the people who came here encouraged such behavior.

Eli had never seen so many half-naked men sweating all over each

other before, and that was only on the dance floor. He could just
imagine what was happening in some back room or alleyway.

“I, uh, thanks,” he stuttered out as he looked around the plush

office. He’d given in to his depraved side a few times, all of them
being one-night stands.

Hookups.
Back alley fucks.
His dad was well-known in the community, and Eli had always

been terrified that someone would see him and squeal to his father. Eli
hated the prejudice his father carried about gay men, but his dad had
always been good to him, treating him and his mother kindly. He felt
like he was letting his dad down every time he sought some stranger
out.

Did it really matter now? He was now a vampire, a creature of the

night. But somehow it did bother him. Maybe from all the years of
creeping around, it was now instilled in him to hide who he really
was.

“You should drink more, Eli. It’ll help strengthen you and heal

your scars quicker.”

Eli nodded, looking down at his shoes that were on the couch.

“I’ll try,” he said as he thought about home. He needed to get to his
apartment and gather some things.

Eli’s Way

Was he homeless now? Where was he going to sleep? His

stomach dropped when he thought of all the movies he had seen in the
past about vampires. Was he going to have to sleep in a coffin?

The thought made him shudder. There was no way Eli was

climbing into a damn coffin. He might be a vampire now, but there
were certain things he was not doing, and lying in a pine box was one
of them. He didn’t care how fancy it looked.

“I’m a bit hungry,” Jersey said as he stood, trailing his fingers

over his flat stomach. Eli tensed, wondering if Jersey was going to
drain him, as big as the guy was. His hand automatically fluttered to
his neck, wondering how painful this was going to be.

He couldn’t exactly tell Jersey no after he had offered himself as

dinner. Eli might be confused and acting like an ass because he was
scared, but he wasn’t a jerk.

If Jersey needed to feed, Eli would find the courage to allow him.

He just prayed Jersey left him with an ounce of blood afterward.

Jersey’s laughter filled the office as he held out his hand. “I’m not

gonna drink from you. I was thinking more along the lines of a fish
sandwich.”

Eli was hopelessly confused now. Fish? Since when did vampires

eat fish?

“Don’t look so confused,” Jersey said as he reached out and

grabbed Eli’s hand, which was curled into a fist and resting on his
knee. “I’m half-human so I can eat food. But I don’t go around
announcing that. It would mess with my badass persona.”

Eli nodded as he stood, not understanding a damn thing that

Jersey just said.

He followed Jersey out of the office, out into the club where a

throng of bodies were gyrating against one another, male-female,
male-male, female-female, and some were just one big ass group.

Eli was mesmerized by the sight. He never really saw people

openly showing their wants and needs for the public to witness. He

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stood there for a moment watching as two men groped each other,
damn near fucking on the dance floor.

Jersey stopped and then walked back, grabbing Eli by the hand as

he pushed through the crowd, knocking some people aside as he
mumbled something about getting out of his mate’s way.

They ended up on the other side of the club and in another

hallway. This club sure had plenty of hallways. Only this one didn’t
seem business-like, not in the white collar sense. Speaking of collars,
Eli saw quite a few people with them around their necks as they made
their way to the back hallway.

Never in his life had he seen so many bizarre things in one place,

and it fascinated him.

“I don’t want you coming down this hallway unless I’m with

you,” Jersey said over his shoulder as he pulled Eli along.

Eli caught a glimpse of one of the rooms when a door suddenly

flew open. His eyes widened when he saw a man hanging in the
middle of the room, and he was naked, angry red marks marring his
body.

He quickly looked away, wondering what the hell kind of rabbit

hole he had fallen into.

And Jimmy was a part of this?
Go figure.
He never would have pinned the guy as a pain junkie. Eli worried

that Jersey was going to take him into one of the rooms and have him
suspended in midair.

That was something he didn’t want to experiment with.
“Hey, Vaughn,” Jersey said as he nodded to a man sitting on a

stool, watching the hallway like some sort of monitor.

The guy nodded, eyeing Eli as they walked by.
His palms began to sweat until they reached the back of the

hallway and the large vampire pushed a door open.

They stepped out into the night, Eli breathing in a lungful of fresh

air. Never before had he been so glad to be standing outside. The

Eli’s Way

moon was full and the clouds were few as he tilted his head back and
sighed.

“Come on,” Jersey said as he jerked his head toward the front of

the alley. “Let’s go get some fish.”

“Can I eat that?” Eli asked as he quickened his steps, trying his

best to keep up with the large vampire.

“Sorry, Eli. You’re on a blood diet. I’ll eat it quickly so you won’t

miss it too much.”

“No worries. I didn’t like seafood when I was…” Eli glanced

around the neighborhood they were walking through as he thought
about the word to finish his sentence. It was finally hitting home.

He wasn’t human anymore.
He was a vampire now.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything you want to know, ask,” Jersey replied as they made

their way to…wherever there was fish at one in the morning.

“I saw a man come in with a baby in his arms. He was with two

other men. You guys don’t baby snatch, do you?” The thought made
Eli sick to his stomach to think of vampires creeping into someone’s
house and stealing innocent little children from their beds.

If that was what they were into, Eli was going to run fast and hard

away from that strange place. There were lines that he refused to
cross, and taking babes from mothers was one of them.

“Hell, no. That was my buddy, Yasuko. He gave birth to Minzhe.”
Eli’s steps faltered as his brain caught up with Jersey’s words.

“He did what?”

Jersey slowed as he waited for Eli to get his head out of his ass

and start walking. He couldn’t help it. The concept alone was mind-
boggling. There was no way Jersey was telling the truth.

“Since we’re mates, I can tell you. Christian is the original

vampire. Any descendant of his or anyone he mates can get pregnant,
male or female. Since his mates are male, Yasuko was the lucky one.”

Lucky one?

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How the hell was a guy being pregnant lucky? Where did he push

the baby…ew. Eli wanted to hold his legs tightly together and pray
that wasn’t how Yasuko had given birth.

“You’re not a descendant, are you?” Please let him say no.
Jersey snorted with laughter as he shook his head. “No. Christian

is my prince, nothing more.”

Thank fuck for small favors.
Eli couldn’t even begin to imagine becoming pregnant. He never

wanted children to begin with, but to carry one himself? He
shuddered at the possibility. Eli had a whole new respect for Yasuko.
Better him than I.

Wait, Jersey would be the one getting pregnant if he were a

descendant, not Eli. The thought still made him shudder.

“Here we are,” Jersey announced as they cut a corner. There was a

big sign that read Papa Dock’s ahead of them. It was a small stand,
not very large and only a few tables inside. There were a few tables
with benches in front of the small take-out shack, and that’s where Eli
wanted to sit. “My dad owns this place, a whole chain of them as a
matter of fact.”

“So your dad is human?” Eli stabbed at a guess. The only other

answer would be Jersey’s mother.

“Yep, and the best dad in the world. He raised me and Buck, and

that wasn’t an easy task.”

“You have a brother?” Eli asked. What would it have been like to

be raised with a brother? Eli was an only child. He had plenty of aunts
and uncles, cousins as well, but his parents had stopped at him.

It really didn’t bother him that he was an only child since he met

Jimmy at such a young age. The two had become inseparable as kids,
which made the longing to have a sibling nonexistent.

“Yeah, you’ve met him, but haven’t been formally introduced. He

was the big guy who told me to take you to the office when you tried
to run from the club. His name is Buck.”

Eli’s Way

Eli remembered the guy. Buck was just as big as Jersey. What

baffled him was how casually Jersey was referring to his escape
attempt, as if it were no big deal. Things seemed to roll off of Jersey
pretty easily. He didn’t seem to have a care in the world. He was even
openly gay. Eli wished he could have that confidence. It would make
his life so much easier.

Eli envied Jersey for that.
“He’s cool peeps. If you ever have any problems and I’m not

around, find him. Buck would do anything for you.”

“Why?”
“Duh, you’re my mate,” Jersey said as he approached the order

window.

“Hey, Jersey,” an older-looking man greeted the vampire.

“Usual?”

“Yep,” Jersey replied as he rubbed his stomach. Eli’s eyes

followed the movement, wondering what it would feel like for his
hand to rub that flat abdomen. His eyes snapped up when Jersey
grabbed his tray and walked over to a table.

“What’s a mate?” Eli asked as he watched Jersey pick the

superlarge sandwich up and take a bite. Eli’s eyes widened when he
saw half the damn sandwich disappear. He hadn’t failed to notice the
large fangs in Jersey’s mouth when it was wide open either.

His hand instinctively went to his neck, wondering if he’d have a

neck left if Jersey ever fed from him. His fangs were huge!

“Do you drink blood since you can eat?” Eli asked as he pointed

to Jersey’s tray of food, which was piled high with fast food wrappers
and a soda. It would take Eli an entire year to eat all of that.

“Sure. I just don’t need it as often as you will. But I am a

vampire.” Jersey made slurping sounds as if he were drinking blood.
This got a smile out of Eli.

His world might be a crazy mess right now, but Eli had to admit,

Jersey was turning out to be cool and funny. It didn’t hurt that the
vampire was drop-dead gorgeous either.

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“So what’s this mate thing?” Eli asked as he picked up a fry,

sniffing at it. He took a tiny bite and then spit the potato out. It tasted
like dry sand. Jersey chuckled as he chewed his food. After he
swallowed, he picked up another fry and waved it in front of Eli’s
face.

“Care to try that again?”
Eli scrunched his face as he batted at Jersey’s hand. “No thanks.”

He never liked fast food before his conversion, so the sight of Jersey’s
tray hadn’t bothered him.

Jersey shoved the fry in his mouth and then took a drink of his

soda before he spoke. “A mate, a husband, a partner, all the same
thing.”

Eli held on to the small table as his body swayed. “Husband?” he

shouted and then clamped his lips tightly together, looking around to
see if anyone had heard him. Thank goodness it was so late. No one
was around.

“Yeah,” he said as he sat his sandwich down. The expression on

Jersey’s face reminded Eli of a kicked puppy. He looked wounded as
hell. “You don’t want to be my mate?”

Eli sat there stuck on stupid. His brain rebelled against the idea,

but his heart was breaking at the sadness in Jersey’s eyes and voice.
He felt connected to the man in some small way, and he didn’t want
to see Jersey so heartbroken. It bothered him. “I don’t even know
you.”

A smile replaced Jersey’s frown as he picked his sandwich up.

“Then we need to get to know each other,” Jersey said as he stuck his
hand out in front of him. “Hi, my name is Jersey Iachino.”

Eli’s Way

Chapter Three

Jersey watched his mate over by the bar. Eli was staring off into

the crowd as the laser lights bounced around the crowd. His mate
looked so damn lost. Jersey wanted to go to him and comfort his
mate, but Eli had cut a wide berth around him lately.

“I hear Christian is going to elect another elder to take Mallon’s

place,” Buck said as he took a seat on the empty stool beside Jersey.
The psycho elder’s name immediately ignited Jersey’s blood pressure,
making it shoot through the roof as he bit back a growl.

He didn’t want to talk about politics or Mallon. He didn’t want to

talk to anyone right now, period. Jersey was too busy keeping his eye
on Eli, who was standing at the end of the bar fidgeting. He looked as
though he wanted to join the crowd, but was too afraid to take that
first step.

“Calm down, bro. We’ll find him, and when we do, we’ll teach

him about hurting your mate.”

Jersey nodded. He loved the hell out of Buck and appreciated that

he had Jersey’s back, but his mind wasn’t into the conversation. He
pushed away from the stool, walking down the bar toward Eli. He
grabbed his mate’s hand, pulling him onto the dance floor.

“I don’t dance.” Eli gave a halfhearted protest.
“Then just stand still,” Jersey said as he grabbed Eli’s hips and

began to sway back and forth, lowering his head to nibble at his
mate’s intoxicating skin. His head swam as he inhaled his mate’s
scent. It was masculine with a touch of cologne mixed in. The smell
was the perfect combination to get Jersey’s cock to start lengthening

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in his pants. His fingers dug into his mate’s side when Eli stiffened,
his head snapping around.

“No one cares, Eli.” Jersey pulled Eli closer, letting their bodies

mold together as the music flooded the club, making Jersey’s body
gyrate to its hypnotic waves.

His cock blossomed further in his pants as Eli’s head fell back

against Jersey’s chest, his body giving in and swaying carelessly back
and forth. Jersey’s grip tightened on his mate as he pulled Eli closer,
letting his cock graze Eli’s ass. He heard a moan over the noise in the
club and knew it came from his mate.

He was dying to take his mate somewhere private and bury his

cock deep into Eli’s ass.

“You like that?” He dipped his head and whispered into Eli’s ear.

“You like when my body rubs up against yours? When my cock
caresses your ass?” Jersey finished his sentence with a small nip on
Eli’s neck as he pushed his hard shaft against Eli and ground it hard
into the man’s backside.

He shivered as he rubbed his cock up and down his mate’s body,

loving the contact as his dick pulsed at the erotic action. Their hips
swayed from side to side, Jersey’s hands running up his mate’s sides
as he leaned back slightly, watching Eli’s ass rock back and forth.

All Jersey could think about was fucking the man until they were

both sweating and panting. He noticed his mate’s skin coloring when
one of the laser lights splashed over Eli.

It had been a week since his mate last fed. He was still jumpy as

hell when it came to feeding, so Jersey didn’t push him. He knew that
Eli would adjust to his new life, but he still worried that his mate
wasn’t getting enough blood into his system.

Eli’s hips started swaying on their own, his ass pressing back into

Jersey’s shaft voluntarily. Jersey laid his arms over his mate, locking
him in as he ground his cock hard into Eli. He was so damn horny that
he was half tempted to bend Eli over right here on the dance floor and
take him.

Eli’s Way

No one would care—no one except Eli, of course.
His mate acted as though being gay was a bad thing. Every time

he got close, Eli scooted away. He was shocked that Eli was dancing
this erotically with him now. Whatever had Eli loosened up, Jersey
was going to enjoy every bit of it.

Jersey spun Eli around, inserting a leg between his mate’s.

Shockingly, Eli rode it as Jersey pulled him closer, grabbing his hips
as he helped his mate ride out his pleasure. He was fascinated at the
look of pure bliss on Eli’s face. His head swayed back as his lower
half rocked forward. Jersey was determined to make his mate come
right here on his leg.

Jersey pushed his leg forward as Eli slid up the length, his fingers

curling into Jersey’s shirt. Jersey ran his hand over the back
waistband of Eli’s pants, his hand sliding in as he ran his fingers over
Eli’s crease. Eli moaned as his fingers tightened.

Eli was close. Jersey could see it in his eyes. They were glazed

and smoldering.

“You’re sexy when you dance like you want me to fuck you. You

have me hard as hell,” he crooned in his mate’s ear. He slid a hand
over Eli’s throat, letting his fingers caress his soft skin. “I want to
drink from you while I fuck you.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have said the last part because Eli pulled

away, heading straight for the bar.

Jersey stood on the dance floor stunned. He was horny and angry

in equal measures. Even though Eli had said he wanted to get to know
Jersey, the man had ducked and dodged him at every turn, sleeping on
the couch in Christian’s office and refusing to go home with Jersey
and the coven.

Vincent was the only one who slept at the club during daylight

hours, and that didn’t set well with Jersey. He hadn’t told Eli, but he
had taken a room upstairs just to stay close. The guy was giving more
mixed signals than a broken streetlight blinking red, amber, and green
all at the same time.

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And if he jerked off one more time, Jersey was certain he’d jerk

his cock right off.

He had to find a way to lower Eli’s defenses and bond with him.

Jersey didn’t like the indifference and the distance between them. He
wanted to be very close to his mate, sharing a bond that no one could
penetrate.

He watched as Shelby approached Eli and began to speak with

him. Jersey wasn’t threatened by the small vampire. He knew Shelby
was just out to make friends. Most of the coven smiled at Shelby, but
none ever took their time with him.

The vampire screamed attention deprivation and showed it, too.

Yasuko had been the only one to befriend the small vampire, but he
was busy with his son and mates now, leaving very little time for
Shelby.

Jersey walked off of the dance floor, heading straight for the bar.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to do about his mate, but he was
tired of this yo-yo effect pulling him back and forth, up and down,
around and around.

One minute Eli accepted his new life, and the next he acted as

though it were a wretched curse. Jersey was getting a solid headache
trying to figure his mate out.

Turning at the last second, Jersey took the steps two at a time as

he headed upstairs to the second floor. Christian wasn’t in his booth,
and neither were his mates. Jersey took a seat, leaning back and
taking a deep breath. He ran his hands over his face and then he sat
forward, watching Eli from the balcony. He was still hornier than hell
after that performance on the dance floor and there wasn’t a damn
thing he could do about it unless he jacked off, and that idea held no
appeal to him whatsoever.

Jersey sat up straighter when he saw Dante Malone enter the club.

What was the leader of the Northern coven doing here? His eyes cut
over to Eli, making sure he was still over by the bar where Jimmy and
Winston were serving. He spotted his mate still talking with Shelby.

Eli’s Way

Buck looked up toward Jersey and then stood from his stool,

moving closer to Eli.

God love his brother.
After what the elder had done to Eli and what he had allowed the

ghouls to do, the Iachino brothers weren’t taking any chances with
Eli.

Jersey loved the fact that Buck was so protective of his mate. It

said a lot about his character as a brother. Buck was the oldest and
had always looked out for Jersey. He was glad that Buck had
extended that to his mate.

“What’s he doing here?” Christo asked from beside Jersey. He

caught himself before he jumped out of his skin. Hell, he hadn’t even
seen Christo approach.

“Got me,” Jersey said as he pushed from the booth. He started to

look for Yasuko until he remembered that he was with his mates.

Jersey felt a little lost around here since Yasuko was under lock

and key with his mates, so he wasn’t sure what he should do now that
his bodyguard duties weren’t needed at the moment.

Maybe he could help Harley bounce.
He was pretty damn good at knocking people around. His size

alone intimidated the crap out of everyone, especially humans. It
would be the perfect job for him. Jersey needed to see Christian about
a career change.

“Keep an eye on him. I’m going to get Christian,” Christo said as

he disseminated. Jersey truly wished he could disappear into thin air
without help from a full-blooded vampire. If nothing else, it was
freaky and cool as fuck. He wanted that power, but being a half-breed,
he lacked that handy little trick.

Jersey leaned further over the balcony, watching Dante closely,

but his eyes continuously shot to Eli. He wanted to go down there,
but…hell, he didn’t even know why he was still up on the balcony.

Jersey headed down the steps, walking over to his mate as his eyes

stayed glued on the leader of the Northern coven. Except for

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Christian, Jersey didn’t trust anyone in power, and he had good reason
not to after what Mallon had done to Eli.

He swore he saw a look of relief on Eli’s face as he approached,

but his mate averted his eyes too quickly for Jersey to be sure. No
matter, it was Jersey’s job to protect his mate. He stopped in front of
Eli, placing his body between Dante’s and Eli’s, and even Shelby’s.
Someone had to look out for the little guy.

Dante cut a quick glance at Jersey and then looked away, as if

uninterested. Good, he needed to keep it that way. Jersey relaxed,
somewhat, when he saw Christian coming from the hallway that led
to his office.

He turned, pulling Eli close. “Go find something to do, Shelby,”

Jersey said to the smaller vampire as he pulled Eli toward the stairs
that led to the upper floor. He wasn’t sure why Dante was here, but if
things got funky, Jersey wanted his mate as far away from the drama
as possible.

“Where are we going?” Eli asked as he followed in a jerking

motion, barely keeping up. Jersey was starting to see that his mate
wasn’t a very fast person. Eli just had a way of doing things slowly.
Like the fact that Eli was accepting his new life slowly. The man
didn’t hurry for anything.

“Away from that group,” he answered as he reached the top of the

stairs and pointed over to a booth. “Have a seat until the leader of the
Northern coven leaves.”

Eli gaped at him as he plopped down onto the booth seat. “There’s

more out there?”

“What, vampires? Duh. They’re everywhere. We just happen to

be a part of the prince’s coven. Lucky us, huh?”

“If you say so,” Eli mumbled as he took a seat, scowling like he

really didn’t want to be there.

Jersey leaned on the rail, watching the two leaders talk. His

thoughts drifted to his mate and he wondered if Eli was ever going to
accept who he was now. He knew it had to be strange to come into a

Eli’s Way

whole new life, a whole new species for that matter, and be told that
this was it, there was no going back. Jersey couldn’t even begin to
imagine what that was like.

Jersey’s eyes flickered over to his mate, feeling a need so deep

that it almost clawed at him to hold Eli, touch him. He hadn’t even
gotten a kiss from his mate yet. He had a surplus of feelings welling
up inside of him, and the one person he could give them to didn’t
want them.

“Would it be possible to get my things from my apartment before

my landlord tosses my stuff out on the tree lawn?”

Jersey jerked around, staring at Eli for a moment, letting his

mate’s words penetrate his wandering brain. “Yeah, we can go
tomorrow night,” Jersey said as he glanced back down at the two
leaders. There was a small crowd forming around them as Christian
and Dante talked. Jersey was curious as to why the vampire was there,
but keeping his mate safe took precedence over his curiosity.

“Am I going to store my stuff in Christian’s office?”
Jersey sighed. Was Eli ever going to accept him? “There are

rooms up here,” he said as he waved toward the back of the second
floor. “You’re welcome to stay in one of them.” Like mine.

“Thanks.” Eli rolled his eyes as he snorted. “I wish you would

have told me about them sooner. That couch isn’t the most
comfortable place to sleep.”

Could have fooled him.
Jersey swore Eli liked the couch. Maybe he should have asked,

but his mate had been healing and scared. He didn’t want to move
him into an unfamiliar place on the second floor.

He had been willing to move Eli into his bedroom at the manor,

but he knew he would be sleeping with his mate if he had agreed.
Jersey hated the fact that Eli wanted to sleep alone. It hurt like hell,
too. “Let me show you.”

Eli scooted out of the booth and stood behind Jersey as he showed

his mate where the extra bedrooms were. Jersey was told the coven

Lynn Hagen

used those rooms for visiting vampires, the ones Christian didn’t want
at the manor. He never would have guessed that his mate would have
been occupying one of them.

Eli stood there waiting in silence. Jersey looked down at his mate

as Eli’s pretty green eyes met Jersey’s black ones. “Am I going to be
in the club alone during the day?” his mate asked as he glanced
around the balcony area.

His dark eyebrows slanted into a frown as he shook his head. “I’d

never leave you alone, Eli. My room is right next to yours.”

“Oh.” Eli blushed and then averted his eyes downward. Jersey

wasn’t sure what that blush meant, but the coloring did wonders for
his mate’s ashen skin tone. It looked good on him. Jersey wanted to
see Eli blush more often.

Knowing he was dreaming the impossible, Jersey led his mate to

the rooms toward the back of the club, opening the door next to his
bedroom. “How about this one?”

Eli stepped in, his gaze flickering around the bedroom as he

walked closer to the dresser. The room was sparsely decorated with a
bed, nightstand, and dresser only. There was an area rug in the center
of the room, but nothing more. These rooms weren’t meant to have
the comforts of home. They were just a place to spend the night when
needed. The windows had a black metal shield covering them for the
daylight hours, making sure the room’s occupant weren’t burnt from
the sun.

“Yes, thank you.”
Jersey knew being just one bedroom away was going to play

havoc with his body and mind. He also didn’t like the fact that he
wasn’t going to be curled around Eli’s frame. But what could he do?

Eli stood there looking sinfully delicious as Jersey stood there

feeling lost. It was a very awkward moment, neither saying a word as
Eli leaned his butt back into the dresser, looking down at his hands.
Jersey stood in the doorway as his mind raced for anything to say to

Eli’s Way

his mate. He was drawing a blank. He usually wasn’t a tongue-tied
person, but hell if he could think of anything to say.

“Hey, Jersey,” Isla, Christian’s third-in-command, called for him

from down the hallway. Jersey stepped outside the doorway, looking
down the hall at the vampire.

“What’s up?”
“Christian wants to see you.”
Jersey looked back at his mate. Eli had crossed the room and was

standing next to him, as if he didn’t want Jersey to leave. “Are you in
trouble?”

Jersey couldn’t think of anything he’d gotten caught doing. He

liked that his mate seemed worried. It made him feel as though Eli
was finally coming around. “I don’t think so. Why don’t you come
with me?”

“Today,” Isla said before disappearing down the steps.
Jersey knew he had to get moving. No one kept the prince waiting

when he summoned them.

As he stepped into the hallway, Eli followed. He was glad he

didn’t have to leave his mate up here by himself. He didn’t know
Vincent too well, but he would cut his balls off and shove them down
his throat if he said one wrong thing to Eli.

Everyone knew Vincent hated humans with a passion. He thought

they were cattle and had little regard for them. Jersey found them
fascinating. Humans were a lost race that needed guidance. He
couldn’t understand Vincent’s detestation, but he didn’t have to. Just
as long as he kept his sharp tongue and hands to himself, then all was
good.

Jersey was like a steamroller as he moved people out of the way.

Too many had gathered at the bottom of the steps, hindering his
progress to the prince. He didn’t want anyone touching his mate, and
he wasn’t afraid to let anyone know this. He spotted Buck standing
behind Minsheng as Christian spoke with Dante. Yasuko stood behind

Lynn Hagen

Christian with their son in his arms, but most of the coven was behind
Yasuko.

Just what in the hell was going on here?
The prince didn’t stop talking with Dante. He just pointed to

Yasuko. Jersey immediately took up a stance behind the young
prince, pulling Eli behind him. Thank goodness his mate didn’t
question him as Jersey stood there protecting the two men.

“I just don’t understand how this could be happening,” Dante was

saying. “Maurice is gone, yet members of my coven are still being
found dead.”

Jersey listened closer.
“And you think it’s someone in your coven?” Christian asked.
“Trust me when I say that coming to you was very hard for me. It

is a sign of weakness on my part, but I’ve tried everything that I can
think of to find the culprit and put a stop to this, but the body count
continues to rise. I have young ones afraid to come out and feed for
fear of their lives. I cannot blame them, yet I cannot figure out who is
doing this.”

Jersey paid close attention. If someone was out there killing off

coven members, he needed to know. His mate was now a coven
member. It might be the Northern coven that was experiencing the
problem, but that could change quickly.

After all, it was Christian’s coven that had defeated Maurice and

ended his reign of insanity. No telling who had an ax to grind. He was
surprised that no one had tried to retaliate against the prince for what
he had done to Maurice. The man was insane, but he seemed to have
many followers.

“There’s something else,” Dante said, his square jaw tensing

visibly. “The rogues seem to have united. They are working together
now.”

Gasps rang out among the coven as Jersey cursed. This wasn’t

good. Rogues stayed to themselves, drinking blood and killing their

Eli’s Way

victims. If they hunted in groups now—Jersey shuddered at the
ramifications behind that thought.

This was bad.
It would be human slaughter, plain and simple.
“I saw a group of them on my way here. They were savagely

attacking a young human couple. I wasn’t able to save the pair, but
my men and I managed to kill the four rogues.”

Jersey could feel Eli’s fingers grab his wrist. He looked down to

see his mate staring at Dante in horror. Even his newly converted
mate felt the implication of what Dante was saying.

“I know that you are acquaintances with the shifters. You may

want to warn them. I’m not sure how far this uniting extends,” Dante
finished.

Jersey knew that someone had placed a price on Christian’s head

from the destruction of the Liquid Wrath lab that he and the other
leaders had destroyed in Brac Village.

Now this?
Things were getting out of control, and Jersey didn’t like it one

bit. He’d have to make a trip to his parents’ home soon to check on
them. Although his mother was a vampire and very capable of taking
care of herself, rogues were sneaky bastards and couldn’t be trusted
for shit. He knew his father would die to defend his mother, and that
thought was something that Jersey wasn’t going to let happen.

“Thank you for warning me. I’ll look into the problem you are

having at your coven immediately.”

Dante bowed and left the club with the vampires who had

accompanied him, his profile sharp and confident. Dante might be
asking Christian for help, but Jersey could tell that the leader was no
one to mess around with.

He was tall, lean, and had an air about him that screamed lethality.

Christian had picked the right guy to run the Northern coven.

Lynn Hagen

Christian turned, summoning Buck and Jersey over, conferring

with them privately. “I am going to the Northern coven to deal with
this matter. Look after my mates and son.”

“With our lives,” Buck responded automatically.
“Yes, prince.”
“Your mate may join you, Jersey. Keep him safe as well,”

Christian said before disappearing right before their eyes. Minsheng
threw a holy-cow fit as Christian disappeared, but Buck managed to
get him into Christian’s office. Yasuko hurried without complaint.

“What’s going on?” Eli whispered to Jersey as they walked into

the office.

Jersey shut the door, locking it before turning to his mate.

“Remember when I told you that Christian was the original vampire?”

Eli nodded.
“Well, he’s going to go find the one killing coven members and

make them wish they’d never fucked with Dante’s coven.”

Eli’s brows shot to his hairline as his lips rounded in an O.
“He’s going to kick their butts,” Yasuko said as he took a seat on

the couch. Jersey pulled his mate back when Minsheng crossed the
room and sat down next to Yasuko, practically wrapping himself
around the smaller man and the baby.

No one knew if Christian or Minsheng was the baby’s father, and

it honestly didn’t matter. The trio was a tight family, and Jersey was
envious of their closeness. He wished he had an ounce of that with his
mate.

Jersey moved his mate further away from the couple. Eli was a

newborn, unaware of the fierceness of Minsheng when it came to
Yasuko, Christian, and the baby. The guy growled, snapped, and
barked at anyone who came too close to his mates.

Jersey sat down behind the desk and pulled Eli into his lap. His

mate looked nervous, but Jersey was going to get him used to loving a
man openly. He wasn’t going to hide what he felt for Eli, and he’d be
damned if he was going to let Eli hide his feelings as well.

Eli’s Way

He wasn’t going to let that happen.
Jersey knew his mate wanted him. He could see it in his dazzling

hazel eyes. Every time he caught Eli stealing glances at him, Jersey
could see the longing swimming around in Eli’s eyes. There was a
hunger there that Eli was dying to unleash. Jersey could feel it like an
electric current shooting between the two of them. He was going to
tap into that electricity sooner or later, but he was praying for sooner
before his blue balls fell off.

“Are you thirsty?” he asked Eli.
His mate’s eyes shot to everyone in the room as he shook his

head, but Jersey could see the truth by the way Eli kept swallowing
rapidly and rubbing at his stomach then throat.

His mate was hungry as hell.
As soon as Christian came back, Jersey was going to take Eli to

his bedroom and make his mate drink. It was utter nonsense that Eli
was starving. Jersey didn’t like that one bit. Not only did his mate
need his strength, but damned if Jersey didn’t get hard as granite
when Eli fed.

And maybe he could get some of that tight ass that kept squirming

on his lap, teasing him.

One could hope.

Lynn Hagen

Chapter Four

Christian disseminated into the Northern coven. It had been a very

long time since he’d been here. When he killed Maurice, it was his
coven who had come in here and cleaned house. It seemed they let
one of the cockroaches get away.

Christian planned on stomping the son of a bitch into the ground.
The young ones bowed as Christian walked among them. Some

visibly shook as Christian passed them, while others stared at him as
if he were a deity. Christian loved his race, and it truly disturbed him
when any one of them turned rogue. His race was beautiful and
enchanting, mystical creatures unlike any other. He hated to see
destruction from any of them.

“How will you know just by looking at them?” Dante asked from

beside him as they walked through the large living room in the manor
the Northern coven lived in. Christian studied each face, quietly
probing each mind, looking for the one with the most secrets to hide.

“Is this everyone?” Christian asked as he continued to study the

young ones gathered here.

Dante nodded as he stood fiercely next to Christian, his face

marred with lines of anger. “Yes, I summoned the entire coven back
here.”

Christian nodded as he noticed one of the males moving ever so

slowly toward the door. He didn’t let on that he noticed this, acting
just as casual as when he had arrived. His eyes flickered around the
room so quickly that he knew none of the vampires could see what he
was doing.

Eli’s Way

“Stop him.” Christian mentally pushed the order to two of the

vampires closest to the one attempting to flee. He also included the
image of the guilty party.

“I believe I have found the one you seek,” Christian said as the

two males struggled with the offender, bringing the man to where
Christian stood. The vampire was kicking and screaming, fighting the
hold the other two had on him as they forced the guilty man to his
knees.

“I’ll kill him!” Dante roared, but Christian held his hand up,

stalling Dante from inflicting his declaration as he circled around the
young one. He placed his hand on the young one’s head, pulling
memories from his mind, flickering through them as he sought the
ones he was looking for.

He was one hundred percent positive this was the one that was

killing the other vampires, but he wanted to see for himself, see the
memories of the young one killing them.

As the memories played, a different story unfolded. Christian

watched as the young one kneeling before him cut the head from one
of his victims, but not before the young one spoke.

“I will not allow you to go rogue. Maurice is dead, and his ways

should die, too. You carry on as if he is still governing us.”

“Fuck you. Dante is nothing like Maurice,” the man with the

blade to his throat spat. “Maurice was brilliant, and I will carry on
his desires. You cannot stop all of us, fool.”

“So be it. You have sentenced yourself to death,” the young one

snarled and then let the blade fly, killing the soon-to-be rogue.

Christian watched similar scenarios play through the young

vampire’s mind, each and every one with almost the same dialogue.
He removed his hand as the young one before him bowed his head
before Christian. “Why did you not go to your leader with this?”

The young vampire shook his head as he looked up from under his

lashes, his lips firm, his jaw square. “Then they would have known
and hidden, Prince. I had to stop them.”

Lynn Hagen

Dante pulled the man to his feet and sank his fangs into the young

one’s neck. He waited patiently as Dante’s eyes grew rounder. He
pulled his fangs free and sealed the wound.

“Have you killed them all?” Dante asked the man.
“Yes, leader, I have. And I would do it again if given the choice.

They didn’t deserve to live,” the young one declared with conviction.

Christian admired the tenacity the young vampire displayed. It

wasn’t often one stood up for what he believed in and chanced being
killed to stop one of his race from killing humans. “What is your
name?”

“Brandon, Prince,” the vampire answered and then lowered his

head once more. “I understand if you have to kill me. I will not cower
and run.”

Christian walked a few feet away, Dante at his side. “He will not

be punished for ridding your coven of Maurice’s followers.”

“I agree.” Dante nodded. “In my eyes, he is a true warrior.”
“Yes, but a warrior that needs protection at the moment. I have

read the minds of your coven members and some disagree with what
Brandon has done. Some still feel as though Maurice was a true leader
and despise you. I will take him to my coven until this matter is
settled. I think you have a few more to cut from the flock,” Christian
said as he named the disgruntled coven members whose minds he had
read. “They hide it well. Since they have committed no crime, they
cannot be killed. Watch them closely.”

Dante bowed his head. “Thank you for dealing with this.”
Christian chuckled as he turned to look over Dante’s coven. “Let’s

drop the ceremony here. It gutted you to come to me. Admit it.”

A grin spread across Dante’s face as he nodded. He placed his

hands behind his back as his eyes roamed over the vampires he was in
charge of caring for. “With every fiber in me.”

Christian grunted as he faced Dante. “I look at you no less for

coming to me. Everyone needs help once in a while.”

Eli’s Way

“Let’s just not make a habit of it,” Dante replied as he walked

away. Christian grinned as he waved for Brandon to come to him. He
liked the new coven leader. Dante was going to do well.

“Yes, Prince?”
“Gather your belongings. You are now a part of my coven.”
“But—”
Christian locked eyes with Brandon, silencing him immediately.

He leaned close, his lips mere inches from the young one’s. “You
missed a few, and now they want your head. I would suggest you do
as I say. I know you have a brave heart, but admit it, Brandon. You
killed those vampires out of sheer luck.”

Brandon looked as though it killed him to admit it, but slowly he

nodded. “I did.”

“Then gather your things. I will wait for you.”
“But what of my brother, Prince? I mean no disrespect, but he’s

all I have.”

Christian sighed. Why did family always complicate things? He

knew he had to take the brother as well or Brandon’s brother would
be the next to be beheaded. “Very well, fetch your brother. But hurry,
I have mates and a son to return to.”

Brandon took off, heading out of the room like his life depended

on it. Christian waved two vampires over to his side. “Go with
Brandon, and make sure nothing happens to him.”

The two raced from the room to do as ordered. As soon as

Brandon returned, his brother in tow, Christian disseminated from the
Northern coven.

* * * *

Jersey drummed his fingers on the chair as his cock grew

impossibly harder. He wasn’t sure why he was torturing himself by
keeping Eli on his lap, but damn if it didn’t feel good.

Lynn Hagen

He hitched his hips, watching as his mate flew up and then back

down. When Eli turned to glare at him, Jersey quickly looked away,
humming as if he hadn’t done a thing. As soon as Eli looked back
toward the room, Jersey hitched his hips again.

“Will you stop that?” Eli asked indignantly as his hands slammed

on the desk to stop himself from being tossed.

“Stop what?” he asked innocently. “I was stretching.”
Eli narrowed his eyes, his lips thinning as he looked at Jersey like

he didn’t believe a word he said. Jersey bit back the chuckle as he
gave Eli the most innocent look he could muster.

“I’m watching you,” Eli warned as he turned back around. Jersey

could see Buck grinning from ear to ear from across the office. He
winked at his brother and then hitched his hips again.

“You did that on purpose!” Eli growled as his head turned to glare

at Jersey once more.

“Did not!” Jersey shot back. He could see the others snickering

from the corner of his eye. “My back is stiff.”

And his cock.
Images of Jersey sliding his mate’s pants down and fucking him

where they sat played through his mind, making his cock throb
harder.

“Fine, I can solve that problem,” Eli snapped as he began to slide

from Jersey’s lap.

“Okay, okay,” Jersey grumbled as he held Eli in place, stopping

him from escaping. “Uncle.” Geez.

Eli growled but stayed put. Jersey could see the sparkle in Eli’s

eyes and knew he was enjoying this. The man was just too stubborn to
admit it. When everyone was looking away, Jersey clamped his hands
on Eli’s hips and ground his cock hard into his mate’s ass.

Eli didn’t protest this time. In fact, he was pushing back slightly.

That was, until Buck looked over at them. Then Eli stilled. Jersey
hated this covert shit. He wasn’t one to hide his desires, and he’d be
damned if he allowed his mate to creep in the dark. But for now,

Eli’s Way

Jersey was enjoying the feel of Eli’s tight ass on his cock—even if it
was through clothes.

Jersey scooted the chair closer to the desk and then slid his hand

around to the front of Eli’s jeans, cupping his cock and running his
thumb over his mate’s erection. Eli ground his ass into Jersey’s cock
as he gripped his mate’s erection harder. He could hear small pants
falling from Eli’s lips.

Now Jersey was determined to make his mate come while sitting

there. He popped Eli’s button, slowly peeled back his zipper, and then
ran his thumb over the head of Eli’s moist cock, smearing the pre-cum
around, playing in the sticky wetness. He was dying to lick his fingers
clean. His mouth watered to taste his mate’s cum.

Buck looked their way, but Jersey gave a slight shake to his head.

His brother covered his smile and looked away. Jersey reached into
Eli’s pants, freeing his mate’s cock under the desk. Eli stiffened, his
back rigid as he glanced around the room.

Jersey placed his free hand on Eli’s stomach, pressing into it until

Eli’s back was resting against Jersey’s chest. “No one will see,”
Jersey whispered into Eli’s ear.

His mate didn’t look convinced.
Stroking Eli’s cock ever so slowly, Jersey pressed his shaft hard

into Eli’s ass. He’d give anything right now to have his dick buried
deeply inside Eli. Small electrical currents shot through Jersey’s groin
as he palmed Eli’s cock and jacked it while his thumb rubbed the
drooling pre-cum around.

Eli’s hips began to wiggle slightly, a tiny moan escaping his lips

as he pushed forward, fucking his dick in Jersey’s hand.

Maybe this covert shit had its merits because Jersey couldn’t ever

remember being this turned on. He glanced around, seeing Minsheng
and Yasuko talking quietly and Buck staring at a painting on the wall,
purposely ignoring them.

Jersey got bolder, sliding his free hand down the back of Eli’s

waistband. If anyone looked at them now, it would be very obvious

Lynn Hagen

what was going on behind the desk, under it as well. He had a feeling
everyone already knew what was going on and were averting their
gazes for Jersey.

They all knew how prickly Eli was being since his conversion.

Jersey didn’t give two shits if they were helping out his cause by
giving him a semblance of privacy. His focus was on bringing his
mate off.

Jersey’s index finger circled around his mate’s hole, playing with

it as he continued to stroke Eli under the desk. His mate was starting
to pant more heavily as he leaned forward, placing his arms on the
desk, trying his best to look casual as he lifted his ass slightly, giving
Jersey more room to insert his fingers.

Eli looked anything but casual. He was letting out small grunts

and wiggling around like his pants were on fire. Jersey ran his fingers
over the head of Eli’s cock and then ran them down his shaft, using
the clear liquid as lube as he picked up the pace, giving Eli a full-
blown hand job. When he felt his mate’s balls draw close to his body,
Jersey shoved his finger into his mate’s ass, making Eli scream with
his release—just as Christian appeared in the office.

The prince’s brow rose high as he stared at Jersey and Eli, and

then turned his attention away. Jersey kissed the back of his mate’s
neck and then straightened his clothes just as two more vampires
appeared.

“You’re hot when you come. Next time, I want you to come in my

mouth,” Jersey whispered before setting Eli on his wobbly legs as he
stood. Jersey chuckled as he placed his hand on the small of Eli’s
back to steady him.

“Buck, Brandon and—” Christian stopped talking and looked

down at one of the vampires standing close to him. “What is your
name, young one?”

“August, Prince.”
Christian nodded with a smile and then turned back to Jersey’s

brother. “Brandon and August will be staying with us. Brandon has

Eli’s Way

done the Northern coven a service and killed some of Maurice’s
followers. But there are a few more, and Brandon’s life is no longer
safe at his present home.”

Jersey shoved his hand in his front pocket, unsure of what to do

with Eli’s spent seed. He just prayed no one wanted to shake hands.
The slickness of his hand would be a tough one to explain.

As the room cleared, Eli rounded on him. Jersey’s body tensed as

he geared up for the argument he knew was coming. He wasn’t going
to apologize for making Eli come. It was the sexiest thing he had ever
done, and he would do it again in a heartbeat. He’d call the entire
coven to watch if Eli made those little noises again. It was downright
hot!

Eli smiled from under his lashes as his face turned a lovely shade

of pink. “I, uh, I’m going to bed.”

Was that an invitation?
A plan formed in Jersey’s head. He was going to wait a few

minutes and then go up to his mate’s bedroom, insisting that Eli feed,
and then bam, he was going to fuck his mate until the entire club
shook from the pounding he was about to inflict on Eli’s ass.

He cleared his throat, giving Eli a slight nod, trying his best to be

as casual as possible. “Yeah, go to bed.” Because I’ll be up there in a
hot second to fuck you into the next millennium, mate.

He could see hesitation in Eli’s eyes, as if Jersey was going to turn

him down. There was no need for that. Jersey wasn’t going to pass up
this opportunity even if the sun miraculously penetrated the club and
started boiling his hairy ass. He’d fuck Eli while his skin blistered.
Nothing was going to get in his way.

Eli left the office, looking over his shoulder at Jersey right before

he walked out. Oh yeah, that was a come-hither look if he’d ever seen
one. Jersey was so hard that his cock was about to drill a hole in his
pants and free itself to chase Eli down.

He counted to fifty and then took off, going after his mate. That

was enough time. Fuck waiting any longer. Jersey had waited long

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enough for this moment. If anyone tried to stop him, Jersey would
toss them out on their ass—prince included. No one was standing in
his way of getting some of Eli.

He took the steps three at a time as he raced to Eli’s bedroom. His

mate spun around as Jersey thrust the bedroom door open. Eli was
standing there in nothing but his boxers. A deep growl ripped from
Jersey’s chest as his eyes took in all the milky flesh exposed to him.

His mate’s body still held scars, bite marks, and fine slash marks

marring his beautiful skin. But they had faded to almost nonexistence
and didn’t detract from his beauty in the least.

Jersey closed the distance, hauling Eli from his feet as he

slammed him against the wall. Their lips locked in a duel of tongues
as Eli’s legs wrapped around Jersey’s waist. Their first kiss was
explosive as Jersey tried to suck Eli’s tongue from his damn mouth.
Their teeth clinked together as Eli opened wide, letting Jersey’s
tongue swoop in to explore the warm, cavernous mouth. His mate
tasted exactly how Jersey knew he would, sweet, warm, and manly.

Hot damn!
He was about to claim his mate.
Fuck yeah.
Jersey had been waiting for this moment. It had felt like time had

dragged on for centuries since he saw his mate crumpled on the
leather couch that first night. He wanted Eli so badly that it bordered
on insanity.

Eli broke the kiss, taking his moist, kiss-swollen lips away as his

fingers dug into Jersey’s skin. He ground his hard cock into Jersey’s
stomach. The head of Eli’s dick was peeking out, the pre-cum bathing
his belly as Eli buried his face in Jersey’s neck and inhaled deeply,
smelling him. “Fuck me, Jersey. Please, fuck me, fuck me.”

Jersey growled at the way his mate begged to be filled. It was the

sweetest sound to his ears. He spun around and left Eli’s room, taking
him from his bedroom over to Jersey’s.

Jersey’s bedroom had lube.

Eli’s Way

Jersey slammed the door closed behind him and then deposited his

mate on his unmade bed. Eli bounced, resting on his elbows as he
looked up at Jersey from under his dark lashes, a playful tease in his
eyes. Fuck if he didn’t look good spread out over his crumpled
sheets—like he was meant to be there.

Eli didn’t say a word as Jersey peeled his clothes off, peacocking.
Flexing.
Showing off.
Damn straight.
He was going to show his mate what he had to offer.
Eli licked his lips as he watched Jersey reveal his naked skin, his

cock jutting out proudly and leaking heavily as Eli’s tongue swiped
across his bottom lip. When Eli rolled, getting onto his hands and
knees, Jersey grabbed Eli’s side and flipped him back over. “I don’t
want your back.”

Eli looked confused, but didn’t argue.
Fuck that. He wanted to watch his mate fall apart as Jersey rocked

his goddamn world. He had been waiting for this very moment, and
he wasn’t going to miss it by staring at the back of Eli’s head.

He reached down and hooked his fingers into the waistband of

Eli’s boxers, pulling them down and off. Damn, his mate had one fine
ass cock. The head was already an angry purple, telling him that Eli
was already close.

Jersey ripped the drawer open to his nightstand, snagging the

well-used bottle of lube as he dropped to his knees, worshipping the
boner that was jutting out, teasing him. His lips parted as Jersey’s
tongue took a swipe at the clear liquid leaking out, making his mate’s
cock jerk its approval. Jersey opened wider and took his mate’s cock
into his mouth, feeling the spongy head slide past his lips and onto his
tongue.

“Jersey!”
That’s right, call my name. Shout it to the damn heavens.

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Jersey wet his fingers with the gel and then pushed two inside his

mate’s ass as his tongue lapped up and down Eli’s cock, tonguing the
large vein and then swiping it over the head.

There was no way Eli was ever going to doubt who fucked him

properly. Jersey was going to make sure of that. He flattened his
tongue and ran it up and down Eli’s cock harder as his fingers
scissored inside his mate’s tight back entrance. His own cock was
begging to get in on the action as it throbbed out its plea.

Eli’s hands raced over Jersey’s hair as his hips began to buck,

fucking Jersey’s mouth in an erratic rhythm. Jersey opened his mouth
wider as he pulled his fingers back, letting a third slide in alongside
the other two.

He took Eli all the way back and down his throat as his tongue

snaked out and licked at his balls. Eli bucked and shouted as his ass
clamped down on Jersey’s fingers tightly. Jersey fucked Eli’s ass with
all three fingers in rapid successions as Eli came down his throat, hot
spurts splashing in quick bursts.

Jersey pulled his fingers free as his tongue lapped at the slit,

drawing out every last drop of honey.

“My turn,” he growled as he reared back and then stood up. Eli

was pulling in ragged gulps of air as Jersey grabbed the lube and
poured the damn bottle onto his cock.

“You’re going to feed from me, just so you know,” he warned as

he plunged deeply into Eli’s tight ass, making his mate howl with
pleasure, his hands shooting out and grabbing Jersey’s shoulders.
Jersey scooped his mate from the bed and then flipped, landing on his
back, his mate perched above him looking like a hot, sexy mess.

“Now feed,” he demanded as he pulled Eli’s head down toward

his neck, his fingers buried in his mate’s hair. Eli struck, dragging in
large swallows of Jersey’s blood as Jersey grabbed his mate’s hips
and fucked him with such force that Eli was bouncing into the air.

His balls were smashed between them, Eli’s cock a hard reminder

of what Jersey’s was enjoying so much. He reveled in the feel of Eli’s

Eli’s Way

hard dick rubbing against his stomach. He was pounding his cock so
hard into Eli’s ass that Jersey’s thighs were vibrating.

Eli shoved his hands under Jersey’s shoulders, hugging him close

as he drank with greed. Jersey’s cock plunged deeper as he gritted his
teeth, refusing to come so soon.

Not yet, not yet, not yet.
His balls were so tight to his body that Jersey thought they were

going to crawl up into him at any second. He pushed Eli down onto
his cock as he thrust forward, loving the sound of their skin smacking
together, reverberating off of the walls. The lube was slick between
them, making it easy for Jersey to shove his cock home.

This was fucking fantastic.
When Eli licked the wound closed, his tongue on Jersey’s neck

making him shudder in pleasure, Jersey struck, drinking from his
mate for the very first time. The blood was so intoxicating that
Jersey’s head spun. He didn’t take as much as Eli had, the man was
still healing after all, but he took enough to bind them together for all
eternity.

His.
Eli was finally his.
Forever.
Reluctantly, Jersey sealed the pinpricks, and then he flipped his

body over, pinning Eli beneath him as he buried his cock into Eli’s
ass over and over again, the tightness of Eli’s body accepting his hard
cock repeatedly.

Eli shouted for the third time that night as his cock erupted

between them, making both of their chests slick with cum. Jersey
didn’t stop. He was going to make sure Eli wanted to come back for
more. Beg him for more.

He leaned back as Eli pulled his legs to his chest and grabbed his

mate’s hips, slamming into Eli’s ass with rapid speed. He watched as
Eli’s half-hard cock bounced around, making Jersey’s mouth water
for another taste.

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Just one more.
His eyes dropped to where his cock had his mate’s puckered hole

red and swollen, diving in and out of his ass and creating a wondrous
sight. The skin was stretched around Jersey’s cock, taking him in,
swallowing him.

Jersey’s neck muscles strained as he fought the impending orgasm

with a clenched jaw. He wanted this to last for hours, forever. But it
was their first time together, and Jersey knew he wouldn’t be able to
hold back.

He reached up and pinched Eli’s nipples with his fingers as his

head fell back onto his shoulders, a roar ripping from his chest as his
seed emptied from his balls.

Jersey rocked slowly as his heart beat out of control. He reached

up and wiped the sweat that was dripping into his eyes, making them
sting as his other hand glided over his mate’s quivering stomach.

“You’re mine now, Eli.” Jersey glanced down when his mate

didn’t reply.

His grin stretched wide as he saw Eli fast asleep.
Yeah, that was what he was talking about.

Eli’s Way

Chapter Five

Eli shifted to his left butt cheek, but that didn’t help. He winced

when he tried to sit on the stool the normal way, both cheeks. Jersey
had made sure he wasn’t going to sit properly for a long while. His
vampire wasn’t like those back-alley fucks Eli was used to. Jersey
won fuck of the year, hands down.

“You know, if you stopped trying to hide that you’re in love with

the big guy, you might be a little happier,” Jimmy said from the other
side of the counter. “There’s no shame in loving a man.”

Eli averted his eyes as his father’s voice rang inside his head.

Faggot, demon spawn, abomination. He rubbed his temples with the
tips of his fingers to rid his brain of his father’s voice. He didn’t know
what to do, and Eli was tired of fighting it. He was so damn weary of
fighting who he truly was.

All because he didn’t want to let his father down.
Maybe he could actually be happy now. He lived in an entirely

different world where no one cared who he was seen with. He was
becoming accustomed to his fangs and the fact that he was now a
vampire. Maybe he could actually let his guard down and be himself.

“Give me a crimson,” he said to Jimmy as he slapped the bar.
His best friend smiled and winked at him. “That’s the spirit. I miss

the old Eli.”

He did, too.
Eli took the glass of blood from Jimmy and took a large drink,

spewing it out as his body jerked around like he just ate a whole
bushel of lemons. “What the hell is that?”

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Vincent growled as he grabbed the bar rag and wiped the front of

his shirt off. “I’m going to start wearing a rubber suit if you keep
making the damn crimson,” he muttered to Jimmy.

“That bad?” Jimmy asked Eli. “I’ll get it right eventually.”
“Until you do, keep me out of your scientific experiment.” Eli

shuddered as the foul-tasting blood remained in his mouth. He
grabbed a napkin and began to wipe his tongue. “So who is who?” Eli
asked as he tossed the napkin onto the bar.

“This is Winston.” Jimmy nodded to a vampire behind the bar. Eli

reached out and shook the guy’s hand.

“And this is Vincent. He hates humans and tried to use me as a

blood cow and to set up my mate when I first got here.”

“I—” Vincent curled his lips in as he glared at Jimmy.
“If he steps one toe out of line, Christian’s going to barbecue

him,” Jimmy stated offhandedly. Eli spun around, looking out over
the club as his best friend continued to point people out. “That’s
Harley at the door. He scrubs humans’ minds before they leave so
they don’t remember vampires.”

Eli looked in the direction of the door, remembering the vampire

when he tried to escape. The guy had blocked his way. Harley looked
their way, as if he knew they were talking about him, and winked at
Eli before running his hand over some guy’s head as he walked out.

He was so glad he hadn’t run out of the door that night. Being

who he was was confusing enough. Having his brain scrubbed would
have sucked even more.

“I’m still getting to know the coven members, but there’s Christo,

Christian’s second-in-command, and Isla is standing next to him. He’s
Christian’s third. Vaughn mans the back hallway if you ever wander
back there, but I wouldn’t suggest that.”

Eli looked over to where Jimmy was pointing. Was every damn

vampire in this place gorgeous, or was his newfound freedom to
declare he was gay jumping into overdrive? Hey, he could look.

Eli’s Way

“That’s Emilio on the dance floor. And Shelby you’ve met

already.”

Eli remembered Shelby from their conversation the night before.

The man was a little excited, but he was a pretty nice guy. He waved
at Eli when he saw Eli watching him. Eli gave a small wave back and
then turned back around to face the wall of liquor.

“The two bouncers that surf the crowd are Hudson and Sutton.

You’ll figure everyone out,” Jimmy reassured him. “It’s not as bad as
you think here. They’re a really tight family that looks out for each
other. If you need help, any one of the vampires here will be more
than happy to help you.”

Eli nodded as he glanced around for Jersey.
“Your mate’s in a meeting with the prince. They have a lot of

those. My mate is Nija. He’s Christian’s fourth-in-command.”

Eli glanced back at Jimmy, wondering if his mate had a position.

“What’s Jersey?”

Jimmy looked surprised as he leaned both arms on the counter,

cocking his head to the side. “You don’t know?”

“If I did, would I have asked?” he snapped and then smiled.
“Prick.” Jimmy snorted as he pushed away from the counter.

“He’s Yasuko’s bodyguard.”

Eli sat there stunned. His mate had a very important job here. Eli

was actually proud of that fact.

“Buck, Jersey’s brother, guards Minsheng. You don’t want to piss

that small man off. Be polite as hell to Yasuko. Minsheng has a hair
trigger when it comes to his mate. I wouldn’t do anything to piss
Christian off either. Not because he’s the prince, although that’s a
factor, but more because Minsheng will try to eat you for breakfast for
doing anything to upset his mates.”

Duly noted.
Eli hadn’t planned on doing anything to make the man with the

baby mad, or the prince, but it was good to know what would happen
if he did. Eli watched two men walk through a door from behind the

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bar. One looked content while the other looked dazed, a happy-as-
fuck grin plastered on his face.

“There is a kitchen back there. But there is also a small room off

of the kitchen that vampires use to do things when they don’t want to
go back to the BDSM rooms,” Jimmy informed him before walking
down the length of the bar to take an order. Eli looked over his
shoulder at the hallway on the far side of the club where he and Jersey
had left when going to get fish sandwiches.

So that was what that was. He wasn’t the least bit interested to try

one of the rooms out, but it was good to know what those rooms were
used for. That explained the hanging man he had seen that night.

Sweet baby cows, what kind of place was this? Everyone walked

around here as if the club wasn’t filled with vampires or humans
trying to get off on being bit or being spanked. This was all so weird.
The first time he had come to this club, before any kidnappings, when
he was innocent in the head of everything around him, Eli had danced
his heart out and then left. Nothing spectacular.

He looked over at Harley at the door, mind erasing some humans

leaving, and wondered if he had done more that night and just
couldn’t remember. He shuddered at the thought of what might have
happened.

No one treated him any differently, so apparently nothing too bad

had taken place.

His head snapped around when he heard Jersey’s deep voice from

behind him. His mate was coming from the hallway that contained
Christian’s office. That was the only room in that hallway. Looking
around, a person wouldn’t think the club that big. Looks were
deceiving.

Jersey walked up behind him, leaning his body into Eli’s. “From

the way you’re sitting, someone is sore,” he whispered into Eli’s ear,
making his face heat up. Buck took a seat next to Eli, grinning at him.

“We’re going out tonight. Wanna join us?” Buck leaned close to

Eli in a conspiratorial way and asked quietly.

Eli’s Way

“He’s not going,” Jersey protested from behind Eli.
“He’ll be safe. Besides, he’s got to be bored out of his skull

hanging around here all the time,” Buck argued back.

Eli was. “I thought we were going to get my things from my

apartment,” he reminded Jersey as he pushed from the stool, wincing
when he took a few steps. Jersey sure knew how to fuck to make a
guy remember.

Jersey patted him on his ass as he winked at him. Bastard. He

followed Buck, Jersey behind him as they exited the club. Harley
nodded at Eli as he passed, hovering his hand close.

“Don’t even think about it!” Jersey growled and smacked at

Harley’s hand, knocking it away.

“Just playing.” Harley laughed as Jersey narrowed his eyes and

grabbed Eli’s hand. Eli was lost at what just happened. They walked
out into a parking lot, Jersey pulling out the car keys and hitting a
button. Eli’s jaw dropped when he saw a small-as-fuck Nissan’s lights
blink. Did these two larger-than-average vampires really drive that
car? Compared to the brothers’ sizes, the car looked more like a tuna
can. Way too small.

“Why can’t we just disappear like I’ve see other vampires do?”

Eli asked as they approached the powder-blue car.

Powder blue?
Seriously?
“We’re not full-blooded, so we can’t disseminate. Go ahead, rub it

in,” Buck said as he opened the passenger-side door and climbed into
the backseat. The car dipped to one side as Buck settled back. Eli
wasn’t too sure about this plan of theirs. He watched Jersey get into
the driver’s seat and the car righted. Maybe they had to ride together
to keep the car balanced? Eli slipped into the passenger’s seat and
buckled in.

Eli rolled the window down. It was a bit chilly out tonight, but he

wanted to enjoy the fresh air. He felt like he’d been cooped up in that
club forever.

Lynn Hagen

Jersey started the car and popped a CD in. Eli’s fingers curled

around the seat belt when Madonna began to sing. Jersey and Buck
began to sing along as Jersey pulled from the parking lot.

What kind of crazy world did he live in now?
Jersey turned the “Like a Virgin” song down as he looked over at

Eli. “So where is your apartment?”

“On Miles Avenue.”
Jersey jerked the car, Eli fearing it was about to tip over as Buck

sat forward and leaned between the seats. “You’ve got to be kidding
me. That’s like the worst part of town. I wouldn’t even go out in the
daytime if I were a human living over there. We feed heavily on
Miles,” Buck said from between the seats.

“You’ve never been bitten?” Jersey asked in astonishment. “Wait,

scratch that. You wouldn’t have remembered anyways. What in the
hell were you doing living there?”

“It’s all I could afford!” Eli shot at both of them. “Geez, kill a

guy’s pride, why don’t you.”

“It’s just dangerous,” Buck answered.
“Oh, and like the life I’m living now isn’t?” Eli retorted.
“Hell, no. You have me and Buck to protect you. Ain’t nothing

gonna happen to you,” Jersey boasted proudly.

“It will if Buck doesn’t sit his big ass back in his seat,” Eli argued

as Buck settled back with a grin.

Jersey laughed as he turned the music back up. Eli wanted to sink

down in his seat. He was gay, and even he didn’t listen to that music.
He prayed no one he knew caught him in a car with two large men
singing about a virgin for the very first time. The song switched over
to “Borderline,” and Eli was ready to jump from the car.

Buck began to sing louder as he reached forward and grabbed

Eli’s shoulders, making them shake back and forth as if he were
dancing to the song.

“Will you stop?” Eli shouted as he batted at Buck’s hands.

Eli’s Way

“Oh, come on, loosen up,” Buck said from behind him. “Live a

little.”

Eli grinned when Jersey began to dance in his seat. It was the

most bizarre sight he’d ever seen, beside the two large vampires
driving this little ass powder-blue car.

He rolled his eyes when the song “Hungry Like the Wolf” began

to play. What kind of mix CD was this? Buck howled from the
backseat as Jersey continued to make jerky movements. Eli prayed
that wasn’t how his mate really danced.

All three were laughing by the time they pulled up in front of Eli’s

apartment building. The two brothers were comical. Eli was finally
letting his guard down and enjoying himself. The brothers even had
him singing along, although he would never in a million years admit
it.

“Okay, let’s get you packed and out of here,” Jersey said as he

opened Eli’s car door. The men that hung out on the block that
normally fucked with Eli stood back, all eyeing the two vampires with
him. Eli grinned, feeling empowered as he walked into his apartment.

Fuck with me now, bastards.
Jimmy had asked Eli to move in with him a thousand times, but

Eli had always refused. He liked living on his own, even if it was in a
dangerous neighborhood. His parents never came down here because
of the rough-looking men that decorated the streets like zombies at
night. As soon as they noticed fresh meat, they all came stumbling
over.

“Nice hood,” Buck said as he walked into the building. “Reminds

me of the zombie apocalypse.”

Eli chuckled as he let the two men into his apartment. “I was just

thinking along the same lines,” he admitted.

The keys jingled as Eli unlocked his apartment door. He swung it

wide and then froze when he saw a stranger standing in his living
room. “Who are you?”

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The man tried to take off down the hallway, but Buck and Jersey

were all over him in seconds, yanking the punk by his collar as Buck
bared his large fangs at the man. The stranger wet his pants as he
shook like a leaf. Eli crinkled his nose at the immediate smell of urine
as Buck pulled the guy back into the room.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Jersey snarled, making the

man turn a whiter shade than he was already wearing. Eli swallowed.
He’d never seen Jersey look that way. His face was pulled back in a
mask of anger as his fangs gleamed in the low lighting. It was truly a
horror movie sight.

“I didn’t see anyone here for the past few weeks. I figured the

occupant had deserted the place,” the man confessed, looking between
the brothers with wide eyes.

“So you broke in?” Buck asked as he shook the guy.
“Here!” The guy started turning out his pockets. Eli watched as

his grandfather’s watch fell to the floor along with his grandmother’s
earrings. The little bit of cash he had stuffed under his mattress joined
the rest of the items on the floor.

Eli began to feel sorry for the guy. He was as thin as a rail, and his

clothes were as scraggly as a stray’s. He picked the money up and
handed it to the guy. “You need it more than I do.”

“Seriously?” Buck asked. “He breaks into your apartment and

steals from you and you pay him for that?”

“Let him go, Buck. I know what it’s like to be down on your luck

and desperate,” Eli said as he headed toward his bedroom. He just
wanted to pack and get the hell out of there. His apartment felt foreign
to him now. Eli felt as though he was in someone else’s place, a
stranger in his own home.

He grabbed a gym bag from the closet and began to stuff various

articles of clothing into it and then went to the bathroom to grab his
personal items. When the bag was full, Eli grabbed a backpack from
the floor.

Eli’s Way

Next Eli walked around the apartment, grabbing family pictures

and anything else he couldn’t part with. He walked the place twice,
making sure he didn’t leave anything behind. He didn’t want to have a
reason to come back to this dump. When he couldn’t find anything
else to shove in his backpack, he declared that he was finished.

Eli walked into the front room and sat his bags down on the floor

next to the couch. He was surprised to see Buck still holding the guy
up by his collar.

What the hell was he waiting for, the cops? Not likely. “Why

haven’t you let him go?”

Buck shrugged, looking unrepentant as he stood there with his

fingers curled into the stranger’s shirt. “Thought maybe you would
change your mind and want to kick his ass.”

Eli sighed as he walked over to Jersey’s brother, smacking at

Buck’s hand repeatedly. Buck acted as though he didn’t want to let
the guy go, but finally relented and released him.

“Take this,” Jersey said as he offered the stranger a business card.

“If you go to that club and ask for Jersey or Buck, we’ll square you
away with a decent meal. On the house,” Jersey added at the last
second.

“What the fuck is this?” Buck asked as he ran his hands over his

head and then pointed at the business card in the stranger’s hand.
“Why don’t we just open up a damn bank account for him? Since
when do we roll out the red carpet for thieves?”

“I’m not a thief!” the man yelled and then blushed a deep crimson

red. “Well, except for this place. But I was hungry,” he said,
justifying his breaking and entering.

“Ease up, Buck,” Jersey warned. Eli loved that his mate was

backing him up, taking his side in this. He wasn’t usually charitable,
but for some reason, the man standing in his living room tugged at his
humanity strings.

“What’s your name?” Eli asked as he ignored Buck’s grunt of

protest.

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“Connor,” the man replied. “Are you going to call the cops on

me?” he asked as his eyes darted toward the door.

“Nah, just be careful out there. Some people would rather shoot

you first and then call the cops for breaking into their place,” Eli
replied as he bent at the waist and scooped the watch and earrings
from the floor, pushing the items into his front pocket.

Connor quickly nodded as Jersey ran his hand over the guy’s

head. Eli could only assume Jersey was wiping away any knowledge
of vampires from Connor’s memory.

Connor glanced at the three and then ran for the door. He was

gone before Eli could say another word.

“Why don’t we just hand the guys on the street the club card, open

up a free hotel for them?” Buck mumbled as he grabbed one of Eli’s
bags. “Since when do vampires do all this fucking charity work?” he
complained as he walked outside.

“Is he always this nice?” Eli asked as he grabbed his jacket, Jersey

taking his other bag.

“Believe me, he’s acting mild right now. Buck would do anything

to keep you safe, even give his life, but he isn’t very compassionate
when it comes to criminals. Neither of us are.”

“Then why did you help him?” Eli asked curiously.
Jersey shrugged. “Because you did.”
Eli usually wasn’t charitable to criminals either, but Connor just

didn’t fit the typical criminal stereotype. He looked too
damn…innocent. Eli smiled up at Jersey, leaning in to kiss him.
Jersey was turning out to be a keeper. Who knew the large man had a
big heart? He liked that about him.

He broke the kiss when his lungs began to burn, his mate looking

dopey with a big goofy smile on his face.

“Come on. We have a real treat for you.” Jersey winked as he

walked behind Eli, closing the apartment door.

Eli climbed into the front seat once his bags were stored in the

trunk. Buck and Jersey picked up where they left off, as if the scene

Eli’s Way

back in his apartment hadn’t even occurred. They laughed, sang to
some eighties tunes, and wiggled around like they were dancing—or
seizing. Eli hadn’t figured that part out yet.

Lynn Hagen

Chapter Six

Jersey parked the car in front of a very expensive-looking

brownstone as he shut the music off. Eli wasn’t sure where they were,
but he felt out of place. This neighborhood reeked of money and
wealth. He glanced around to see the streets deserted this late, but
there were plenty of porch lights lit.

The trees were shedding their fall leaves as the wind blew them

around the sidewalk, making the leaves dance in a strange ballet on
the concrete. He glanced up once more at the house they were parked
in front of, wondering why they were there.

“Don’t be skeard,” Jersey teased as he climbed out of the car and

walked around to Eli’s side, pulling him from his seat.

“Don’t be what?” Eli asked as Buck climbed from the backseat.
“Scared,” Buck answered for Jersey. “Don’t mind my doofus

brother. He watches way too much television.”

The door to the brownstone flew open just then, a very tall and

elegant woman standing there grinning down at the three. “It’s about
damn time you came for a visit. I was beginning to think I’d have to
go see the prince to make an appointment to see my own damn sons.”

Eli’s jaw fell to his chest as he stared up at the woman standing

there looking like a princess. That was Jersey and Buck’s mother?
Even though his taste ran on the depraved side, even Eli could
appreciate her stunning beauty. She was a looker.

“We have jobs now,” Jersey protested as he walked up the steps,

embracing his mother and pecking her on the cheek before turning to
face Eli. “And this is my mate.” He pointed down at Eli, putting the
spotlight directly over him.

Eli’s Way

Eli felt like he should run and hide somewhere. Most mothers

thought that no one was good enough for their son. Why would
Jersey’s mother be any different? If anything, she should be steaming
mad right now that her son presented her with a male.

“Welcome, honey.” She smiled at Eli as he walked up the steps to

his doom. “My name is Marie, since my boys have forgotten their
manners.”

“Eli,” he offered quickly. He ran to catch up with Jersey as Marie

closed the front door behind them. Eli’s eyes swept the room,
admiring the way Jersey’s mom had decorated the place.

It was classy, elegant, and every damn thing looked breakable.

The living room was a contrast to the rest of the house. It had oversize
couches, lined bookshelves, blankets tossed over the back of the
couches, and two large recliners sitting in front of a television that had
a football game playing on it. This room looked like a normal home.
Eli hurried to Jersey’s side when he spotted an extremely large man
sitting in one of the La-Z-Boys and watching the game on the
television.

“Hey, Pops,” Jersey said as he plopped down on the sofa, pulling

Eli down next to him.

“About damn time you showed your ugly mug around here. I was

beginning to wonder if I had to join Christian’s coven just to see you
two.”

“That I would pay good money to see,” Buck said as he dropped

down on the other side of Jersey. Eli could feel the couch bounce as
Buck settled. He glanced over at Jersey’s father to see the man eyeing
him curiously. Eli swallowed. The guy was built like a damn
quarterback and just as tall. His own father didn’t like gay men, and
Eli wondered if Jersey’s father was the same way.

“Oh, hell, sorry,” Jersey said as he threw a heavy arm over Eli’s

shoulder. “Pops, this is my mate, Eli.”

A wide grin broke out across Jersey’s father’s face. “I was

beginning to think you brought a snack home.”

Lynn Hagen

Jersey howled with laughter as Buck grabbed his side, his face

turning red from the fit of laughter erupting from him.

“You know Mom would kill me if I did something like that,”

Jersey said as soon as he gained a small measure of composure.

“Name’s Dominic.” The father reached over and shook Eli’s hand

and then settled back into his chair. “Do you watch football, son?”

Eli sat there stunned. Jersey had just admitted that Eli was his

mate, and Dominic didn’t even bat an eye at the gayness of the
declaration. He was confused as hell as he shook his head. “No, sir.”

“That’s too bad. Aaron Rodgers is having a phenomenal season. I

was hoping for a son-in-law that was a sports fanatic,” Dominic said
and then winked at Eli. “But you’ll do. Ain’t nothing wrong with
learning.”

“Aaron Rodgers?”
“Green Bay,” Dominic said as he grunted. “You’ll learn.”
Just then Marie brought in a serving tray. She set it down on the

coffee table and took a seat in the matching La-Z-Boy next to
Dominic’s. It was all so normal around here that Eli was getting
nervous. He was a vampire now, mated to a male. It shouldn’t be so
normal. Eli was expecting coffins and candelabras and creepy organ
music.

But June and Ward Cleaver just sat there watching the football

game.

How odd.
“Drink up, honey,” Marie said as she waved at the tray with filled

cups and snacks. “I hope you like O negative.”

Eli’s jaw dropped as he looked at the tray and then over at Jersey,

who had grabbed a Pizza Roll from the plate, scarfing it down and
then going for another. Buck bumped Jersey out of the way and
grabbed a handful of the tiny bite-size snacks. Eli wasn’t sure what to
do.

Eli’s Way

“He doesn’t drink crimson, Mom,” Jersey said before popping

another snack-size Pizza Roll into his mouth. “He drinks from the
source,” he stated proudly as if that were something to brag about.

“Well, good for him,” Marie said as she grabbed a glass of

crimson and sat back, crossing her legs and watching the football
game. Eli was a little lost. No, correction, he was so lost that he would
need a map back to the conversation.

“Dinner is almost ready,” she said and then turned to Eli. “I’m not

sure what to serve you since you don’t drink crimson. Maybe you can
feed from Jersey while he eats.”

Was she serious? Eli swallowed hard at the idea of crawling onto

Jersey’s lap while everyone sat around the fine china and watched. He
could feel his heart racing out of control as panic started to set in. This
was crazy. This was insane. Eli wasn’t going to do it.

“She’s messing with you, Eli,” Jersey said as he bumped

shoulders with him. “Ma has a really twisted sense of humor.”

Strong relief washed through Eli as he stole a glance at Marie.

“Good one,” he said weakly.

“She is a handful,” Dominic said without looking away from the

game.

Was that a compliment or a warning?
“You don’t have a problem with your sons being gay?” The

question slipped out that fast. Eli curled his lips in, but it was too late.
The words had slipped past his lips and were now out there hanging
between him and the room.

In a way, he was relieved to get that question out in the open. If

Jersey’s parents were going to object or protest to Jersey having a
man, he wanted to know. Eli wanted to be where he could witness it.
As crazy as it sounded, he wanted them to talk about him behind his
back while he was sitting there.

It made sense to him.
“Yes, I’m well aware that both my sons are gay.”

Lynn Hagen

He had never seen a family so accepting in his life. It was bizarre

as hell to see Dominic wave a hand as if dismissing Eli’s question.
His father would probably be having a heart attack right about now if
Buck and Jersey showed up at his door, let alone if he announced he
had a male mate.

Eli waved a hand at Jersey and then at himself. “And that he fucks

me up the ass?” He slapped a hand over his mouth as soon as the
words left his lips. What in the fuck was wrong with him? He had
never been more mortified in his life. Where the hell had that question
come from?

Eli had a strong urge to fall back into the cushions and pray they

swallowed him up. He’d never used that kind of language in front of
his mother, so why was he using it in front of Jersey’s? Could he hit
the rewind button on the remote and stop himself from asking that
crude question?

Marie was good-natured about it and giggled as Dominic tried to

hide the grin that was spreading across his face. Eli looked over at his
mate, watching him grin as he chewed the snack food.

“That’s, um, well, none of my business. But yes, I’m well aware

of that, too,” Marie replied.

Eli’s face was burning lava hot as he scooted further back, hoping

the seat cushions really did reach out and pull him in. The odd thing
was, no one was paying any attention as Jersey pulled him so close
that he was practically sitting on the man’s lap as everyone watched
the game.

It was odd to know that he didn’t have to hide his depraved

thoughts here. No one cared. He settled back, enjoying the feel of his
mate’s arms. He still stole glances at Jersey’s parents after that crazy
question. Talk about an embarrassing moment in life that he wished
he could take back.

As he watched the game and felt the normalcy of the moment in

this brownstone house with a vampire mother and a human father, Eli
began to relax in Jersey’s arms.

Eli’s Way

Maybe he wasn’t a depraved individual after all.

* * * *

Jersey stood at the club door, bouncing. Christian had agreed to

Jersey’s request to take up another gig since the prince and Minsheng
hadn’t allowed the smaller man out of their sight. Jersey loved the
physical part of the job—knocking heads together when the humans,
or even some vampires, got out of control.

It was better than sitting around with his thumb up his ass. Sure,

he could spend all day in bed with Eli, fucking his brains out, but
Jersey wanted to be a little more productive than that.

Although the idea had him hard all the time.
Eli had taken up with Shelby since Yasuko never seemed to be

around. The two became fast friends, and Eli even helped Shelby out
when the smaller vampire had to bus booths up on the second floor.

Christian believed in feeding the humans. He said that they

needed their nutrients replaced after donating to his coven. It kept Eli
busy so his mate wouldn’t go out of his mind with boredom. Eli
confessed that he really wasn’t into the club scene. He had only gone
to them to get laid.

That confession shot Jersey’s jealous streak through the roof, but

he didn’t let on to Eli. His past was his to have, but Jersey didn’t have
to like it. He wasn’t all snowy white himself.

“Looks like Eli is finally adjusting,” Harley commented as they

both watched Eli and Shelby bring down a load from the tables
upstairs.

“He’s trying.” And that was the honest truth. Eli still had his

outbursts, his insecurities at being himself in front of everyone, but
for the most part, he was cool. He smiled when his mate looked his
way, giving Jersey that sweet smile.

“God, you got it bad,” Harley teased as he elbowed Jersey. “I

hope no one has my nose that wide open.”

Lynn Hagen

Jersey glowered at Harley. “Mind your own business.”
“I would if you stopped making googly eyes at him. It’s

embarrassing!”

Jersey ignored Harley as he went outside to break up a fight

between two humans who were throwing punches like they meant it.
He yanked the men apart and pushed them in the opposite direction.
“Take it somewhere else.”

Jersey turned to walk back to the door where Harley was smiling

down at some blond, when he noticed Mallon. He was smiling smugly
and leaning against Jersey’s car. Not thinking, only reacting, he went
after the bastard with vengeance.

“Jersey, wait!” Harley called, but Jersey wasn’t listening. He

couldn’t understand what the sadistic elder was after by showing up
here, but if it was Eli, Mallon wasn’t going to get anywhere near the
man.

He had made his mate a promise, and Jersey didn’t plan on

breaking it. Eli was going to remain safe if Jersey had to kill the
bastard with his bare hands.

Jersey barreled forward head-on as he raced to get his hands on

the ex-elder who had whipped every inch of his mate’s body, leaving
him for dead in that damn cavernous room. The same elder who had
brought the ghouls into play and had them bite Eli to within an inch of
his life. The same elder that Jersey was going to kill.

No, he wasn’t going to wait.
Jersey had waited long enough.
A tic started in Jersey’s jaw when he saw Christian appear right

before him, blocking him from getting at Mallon. The prince was after
Mallon for the heinous crimes he committed, but Jersey had a
personal ax to grind with the vampire. A personal vendetta that he
wanted to make sure Mallon received.

Mallon saw Christian and vanished, Christian vanishing within

seconds after Mallon disappeared. Jersey shouted out his protest in the
parking lot, kicking his car wheel. He was pissed beyond reason at the

Eli’s Way

injustice of not being able to get his revenge. He stood there seething
before walking back toward the club.

He glared at Harley, but the vampire didn’t say a word as Jersey

passed by him to go check on his mate. He glanced around the club
until his black eyes locked with hazel ones. Eli was staring at him
strangely, as if he could tell something was troubling Jersey.

Taking a deep breath, Jersey tried to suppress his rage as he

headed toward his mate. The last thing he wanted to do was to scare
Eli.

“Is everything okay?” Eli asked as Jersey approached. He knew he

hadn’t totally composed his anger, but he was slowly calming down
now that he saw that Eli was fine.

“I’m cool. Just get excited every time I see you,” he replied as he

winked. He felt like a rat bastard for lying to his mate, but Jersey
didn’t want Eli to know how close Mallon had come to the club. Eli
was making progress, and he didn’t want that ruined because the
bastard wanted to play his mind games.

“You look constipated,” Eli said as he sat the tray on the bar. “If

that’s excitement, I hate to see what overjoyed looks like.”

Jersey sighed as he shifted his weight to his other foot. He wanted

to change the subject. Lying to his mate didn’t set well with him, and
he didn’t want to tangle the web any further. “I’m fine, babe. How’s
everything going with Shelby?”

Eli rolled his eyes as he grumbled, “Fine, but the guy has way too

much energy for me. It’s like trying to keep up with the Road
Runner.”

Jersey stepped aside as a human saddled up to the bar to order a

drink.

“I’m heading back to the door. You know where I am if you need

me.” He hated that his mate worked in the club. Not that Jersey
objected to Eli working, but he hated for anyone to be around his
mate. His possessive side hadn’t eased up now that they were mated,
but he wasn’t going to lock Eli away.

Lynn Hagen

Although he had entertained the thought many times.

* * * *

Emilio leaned against the wall by the BDSM hallway. His eyes

scanned the wall of bodies writhing erotically on the dance floor. He
had missed this when he was in the Northern coven being a mole.
There was nothing in the world like seeing the hot, sweaty male
bodies undulating, calling to him, begging him to take a drink.

The Manacle had been a brilliant idea, and he was forever

thankful that he was a part of the prince’s coven. The place was
hypnotic, erotic, and a taste of the forbidden that he loved to indulge
in.

Pushing away from the wall, Emilio looped toward a male that

was swiveling his hips as his hands ran up and down his bare chest.
Emilio could see the small brown nipples peaked beyond perfection.
His tongue slid across his fangs as he smiled seductively at the man.

“Christian wants to speak with you,” Christo said from behind

him.

Emilio was half tempted to ignore the second-in-command as the

brown-haired beauty’s blazing blue eyes locked onto him. The human
cupped his groin, sliding his fingers up and down the length, begging
Emilio to come to him.

“Now?” he asked in irritation.
“No, at your earliest convenience,” Christo said sarcastically.
Emilio walked over to the stranger, placed his index finger under

the human’s chin and lifted it for a sensual kiss. The man was panting
by the time Emilio broke the kiss. “Don’t go anywhere, love.”

The human nodded obediently as Emilio walked away from his

snack. His cock was rock hard as he walked behind Christo to the
prince’s office. This better be important. Emilio was hankering for a
human, and he had one raring to go.

Eli’s Way

As he walked into Christian’s office, he noticed Brandon and

August standing by the prince’s desk.

Christian leaned forward, placing his arms on the desk as he

nodded toward the brothers. “Emilio, meet your new charges.”

Lynn Hagen

Chapter Seven

Christian drummed his fingers over his knees as he sat in the chair

in his large living room in the manor. Tonight was the night he had
elected to choose a new elder to replace Mallon. The club was shut
down, and the entire coven was here, along with Dante’s.

It was like a damn social dance in the humans’ high school. His

coven stayed on one side of the room while Dante’s stayed on the
other. Members from each coven kept shooting glares across the room
at each other as if they were rival gangs.

This was ridiculous. They were all of one race, all vampires. Why

in the hell couldn’t they act like it? Christian knew he had to unite
them or there were always going to be problems. In his infinite
wisdom, he decided to pair them up, giving each member of his coven
a member of the Northern coven to show around for the next few
days.

If they didn’t kill each other by the third day, maybe his race had a

chance. Christian was tired of the rogues population rising and the
unnerving reports he was getting about them uniting. What he hadn’t
announced to anyone yet was the report he was given about the
rogues forming a subcommunity under the city. He couldn’t
understand their motives in doing this. What did they have to gain
from uniting?

If what he was hearing was true, then the vampires needed to put

their petty squabbles behind them and unite against the ones that had
taken to the darker side of vampire living. Christian could see the
allure of being a rogue, but he also knew that a rogue lost his
humanity when embracing that life.

Eli’s Way

He rose from his seat when Savas and Vinicio walked into the

manor. The two elders greeted Christian and then took a seat.

“So who is the newly chosen?” Savas asked as he crossed his legs.

“Please tell me it isn’t that nitwit Gallagher that runs the coven down
south.”

Christian was already getting a headache. The elders gossiped

worse than old women in a knitting circle. That was one of the
reasons he had fought to stay away from them.

“You’ll soon find out,” Christian replied. He would rather be in

bed with his mates or even spending time with his new son than
listening to the two men complain about the world of humans and
vampires.

He sat back and feigned interest while praying that the induction

would soon start. The newly appointed was due any moment.

A smile tipped the side of his mouth up when Damiano walked

into the manor, self-assured and striding with confidence.

About damn time.
“You chose Damiano?” Vinicio hissed. “Why on earth would you

choose him? He’s arrogant and crass. Dante would have been a wiser
choice than that pompous air bag!”

Christian rolled his eyes. “Are you going to argue my choice?”
Vinicio blustered and grunted, but shook his head. Smart man.

Christian rose to greet Damiano across the room, nodding his head at
Christo to get the induction underway.

* * * *

Eli scratched his head as he stared at the vampire standing in front

of him looking as though he were bored out of his skull. Christian
said he had to show him around and be nice, but hell if he knew what
to say. He was still getting his feet wet in his new life as it were.

“What’s your name again?”

Lynn Hagen

The vampire’s lip curled up as he stared at Eli like he was a twit.

“Taras,” he said slowly, cementing Eli’s belief that the vampire
thought him dim-witted. He wanted to pop the guy a good one in his
eye, but that wouldn’t be “uniting the covens,” as Christian had put it.

He’d like to unite his fist to the guy’s jaw. Taras had done nothing

but turn his nose up at Eli since being paired with him. Eli was ready
to tell the guy to go screw himself until he saw Christian smiling
softly at him from across the living room, giving him a slight nod.

Sighing with resignation, Eli turned to look for Jersey. Maybe he

could dump Taras off on his mate. Eli wasn’t that sociable a person,
and dealing with the vampire’s sucky attitude was pushing his anger
closer to the surface.

“Follow me.”
The vampire looked like he’d rather eat coffin nails, but followed

behind Eli anyway as he wove through the crowd toward his mate.
Jersey was standing there looking like Eli’s next breath as he talked
with his brother over on the other side of the room, oblivious to Eli’s
mounting rage.

If the dickwick behind him looked at Eli one more time like he

was scum on the bottom of the guy’s shoe, he was going to forget the
uniting thing and knock the vampire on his ass.

His thoughts of kicking Taras’s ass fled as Jersey turned, smiling

at him, making Eli’s heart skip a beat. Eli could feel his chest
tightening at what he was feeling for his mate. Never had he thought
to find someone who made him feel as though the stars in the sky
were only for him.

Jersey curved an arm around Eli’s waist and pulled him close as

he turned back to Buck. “That’s what I’m hearing,” he said to his
brother. Eli didn’t care about uniting, rogues, the new elder, or
anything else. He was tucked neatly into Jersey’s arm where he
belonged. The rest of the world melted away as he sighed.

Eli’s Way

“You brought me over here so you could hug all over him?” Taras

asked as he pointed over at Jersey. “Here I thought we were about to
do something interesting.”

“Friend of yours?” Jersey asked as he glanced from Eli to Taras.
“Hardly,” Eli replied. “He’s the one Christian paired me with.” He

noticed others staring at him, and Eli became uncomfortable. Eli
didn’t like attention, and too many eyes were looking his way. He
pulled from Jersey’s arm and walked toward the bathroom. When
Taras followed, Eli threw his hand up.

“Not likely, buddy. This I can do alone.”
Taras narrowed his eyes at Eli as he walked back toward Jersey.

He stood there watching Taras smile and playfully slap Jersey’s arm.
Eli was gritting his teeth by the time he entered the men’s room. He
didn’t like poachers, and Taras was pushing close to the danger zone.

Eli sat on the toilet seat and took a deep breath. He never thought

he’d see the day when he would be able to step out of the closet, but
fuck, did it have to be in front of so many damn people?

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed his dad’s

phone, feeling a bit homesick.

“About time you called. I was beginning to worry about you.”
Eli smiled at his dad’s deep timbre. It washed away all his worries

at the moment and made him feel like homemade cookies and apple
cider. “Hi, Dad.”

“So, where have you been, son? Your mother’s worried sick.” His

father’s tone was gentle, soothing. Eli wanted to break down and cry
at that very moment. He wanted to feel his dad’s arms around him,
letting him know that he wasn’t a failure as a son and that he still
loved him although he was mated to Jersey, a man. He knew that was
wishful thinking, but he wanted it so damn badly that his heart hurt.

“I’ve been busy with some things. I’m sorry I forgot to call you.

How is Mom?”

“Besides worried, she’s fine. Work keeps her busy, and spending

time with Elda.”

Lynn Hagen

Eli smiled. He loved his Aunt Elda. She was zany and bubbly and

downright perfect. He wished he could go home for a visit to see his
family, but Eli was afraid of what his dad would do when he brought
Jersey with him. “Tell them I said hi.”

“Your mom’s having one of her infamous family gatherings this

Sunday. I’m not asking you to be there, I’m telling you. Your mom
wants everyone together,” his dad said and then chuckled. “She thinks
your cousin Madeline is pregnant so she’s running around here like
she’s the one becoming a grandmother.”

Eli laughed. “I’m glad Madeline and Sam finally got it right.”
“Me, too. Elda is excited about being a grandmother. She’s going

on and on about it. Just warning you.”

Great. That meant his mom would be all over him about settling

down and producing a grandbaby. Eli scratched at the leg of his jeans
as he stared at his shoes. He knew there was no way he was giving his
mother a grandchild. He felt like he was letting his family down. He
wiped at his eyes as he cleared his throat. “I’ve gotta go, Dad. Tell
Mom I love her.”

“Stay safe, son. I’ll see you Sunday. You can tell me then why

you just up and disappeared.”

Eli nodded as he hung up, dropping the phone in his lap as he

cried. He was in the bathroom, so he didn’t have to worry about
anyone seeing him. He unrolled a few blocks of toilet paper and blew
his nose as the hard lump bobbed in his throat. Eli would do anything
to please his father, but he knew that marrying a female wasn’t in the
cards.

He stood and turned, looking in the mirror at his red nose and

puffy eyes. Gah, Jersey was going to know right away that Eli had
been crying. He turned the tap on, splashing cool water over his face.
It was no use. His face was a dead giveaway.

Eli cracked the bathroom door open, looking out into the throng of

vampires mulling around. He so did not want to go back to that.
Slipping from the bathroom, Eli made his way to the front door. He

Eli’s Way

needed fresh air. There was no way he was going to let Jersey see him
like this. He looked and felt like shit, and his night didn’t seem to be
getting any better. He knew a lot of people were worse off than him,
but Eli still struggled with his new life.

Once outside, Eli leaned against the side of the house. It felt good

to be out in the open, away from the crowd, so he could have a
moment to think. If Jersey only knew how hard it was to keep it
together sometimes. Eli might put on a brave face, but most of the
time he was completely lost. This new life wasn’t exactly a walk in
the park. He never knew there were so many damn rules in a vampire
society.

From the movies, Eli had thought that they lived in coffins and

lurked in back alleys, draining their victims before moving on. Fuck,
there was an entire society with rules and repercussions and politics.
He was starting to wish they did live in coffins and lurked in back
alleys. This shit was complicated.

Tucking his hands behind his back, Eli leaned his head against the

house. His tongue played over his dental work as he wondered what it
would be like to actually go out there and bite an unsuspecting victim.
He had drunk from Jersey and only Jersey since his rebirth and
wondered if everyone’s blood tasted the same.

Was it the taste of blood or the allure of being able to make people

submit and give themselves over? He kicked his toe against the
concrete as he stared off into the maze of cars parked out back. Eli
wondered if he walked down to the streets right now and bit someone,
would they let him?

Fuck, he was beginning to think like a damn vampire. He had

gone from being grossed out by even the thought of drinking blood to
wanting to know what others tasted like. How screwed up was that?

“There you are.”
Eli glanced up to see Jersey walking toward him. The man was

truly handsome. Even his walk made Eli want to get naked and beg at

Lynn Hagen

his feet. He looked in the opposite direction, unsure if his face was
still swollen from crying.

“Is something wrong?” Jersey’s voice was filled with concern as

he stopped next to Eli. Eli wanted to tell him everything, his fears, his
worries, his feeling of ineptness, and the way he missed his family,
but nothing came out. All he could do was shake his head and stare at
the line of cars.

Jersey stepped into his line of sight, tilting Eli’s head back with

his knuckle. His brows pulled down tight as he tilted Eli’s head from
side to side. “You’ve been crying.”

And then some.
“It’s just a little overwhelming.” He confessed a small part of

what was going on with him. Overwhelming didn’t even cover it.
There were moments when he felt like everything around him was
falling apart, and he couldn’t even gather the pieces up quickly
enough.

“Anything I can do to help?” Jersey asked. He stayed a foot away

from Eli, giving him his space but not too much, which Eli
appreciated. Jersey seemed to be the only rock-solid thing in his life
right now. Jimmy was his best friend, but his best friend was
preoccupied these days with Nija.

Not that he blamed the guy. Nija was smoking hot. But no man

came close to Jersey’s good looks. He shook his head as he glanced
up at Jersey. “Nah, I’m good.” And he was feeling better now that
Jersey was standing next to him.

“You know I’m here for you if you need anything, even someone

to talk to.”

Eli nodded. He knew that. He just wasn’t used to confiding in

anyone. He didn’t even tell Jimmy half of the stuff that happened in
his life. “You ever feel so lost that you didn’t know where to go?”

Jersey leaned against the wall next to him, tucking his hands

behind him in the same manner that Eli had his. “Most of my life. I

Eli’s Way

may act as though I know what I’m doing half the time, but not really.
I rely heavily on my brother.”

“I’m an only child,” Eli pointed out.
“You can borrow Buck. He’s great. You can even borrow me. I’m

a good listener. I can’t say that I’ll have the solution, but sometimes
people are just looking for someone to listen to them. Try me.” Jersey
bumped shoulders with Eli as he crossed his ankles.

Could he? Could Eli tell Jersey the thoughts that ran through his

head half the time? Eli cleared his throat, staring off at the cars again,
unable to look at Jersey as he spoke. “Ever since I was old enough to
notice the opposite sex, my eyes wandered toward the quarterback or
the guy sitting next to me. I always thought something was wrong
with me.”

Jersey squatted down, grabbing a few pebbles and tossing them

away from him as he listened.

“My dad has made it known that he doesn’t like gay men, but he’s

been a great dad, a real strong man that has always shown me that he
loved me. I feel like I let him down.” It felt good to finally tell
someone, yet to hear the words aloud made Eli realize just how much
of a disappointment he truly was to his father.

“It kind of happened the same way for me,” Jersey said. “I was

homeschooled because I couldn’t be out in the daylight, but when I
fed, my desires went more toward feeding from men. I was terrified to
tell my dad.”

“Really?” Eli asked as he scooted down with Jersey. “How did

you get the courage to tell him?”

Jersey chuckled. “I didn’t. Buck told him. He noticed that I only

fed from guys and put two and two together. I was mad at him for the
longest time for outing me like that. My dad wasn’t thrilled about it at
first, especially when Buck came out as well, but he learned to deal
with it. Now it’s no big deal. I’ve realized that I can’t live through my
parents. At the end of the day, what matters most is that this is my

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life, and I have to live it the way that makes me happy. And being
mated to you makes me happy.”

“This is the first time I’ve openly been with a guy. It’s scary. I

feel like everyone is watching me, judging me.” He knew he
shouldn’t care what other people thought. As Jersey said, at the end of
the day, it was his life. But Eli hadn’t been happy hiding who he was.
As a matter of fact, he had been downright miserable.

“As big as I am, I was scared,” Jersey admitted. That revelation

stunned Eli. Jersey looked like he didn’t care what people thought of
him. His mate seemed so self-confident. “But I walked out of the
closet and haven’t looked back. If you want, I can help. I’ve been
there and know what you’re going through.”

“I’d like that. Thank you,” Eli said.
Jersey stood, holding his hand out. Eli took it, pulling himself up

as Jersey closed him into his arms. He knew he could do this. As
scary as it was, with Jersey helping him along the way, he could do
this.

“That was so sweet. I think I may cry.”
Eli gasped as Jersey spun around, his body blocking Eli’s. It was

the man that had kidnapped him from behind the bar that Jimmy used
to work at, The Cave. He began to tremble as thoughts of that night
came flooding back into his mind.

The guy had lured him outside the bar with promises of showing

Eli a good time. He had been stupid and trusting. All his alarm bells
had rung that night when he looked into the guy’s eyes, but Eli had
ignored them and followed the man out into the alley anyway.

He didn’t remember much after that except when he was woken

up with a whip cutting into his body. Maybe it was the sight of the
stranger, but every last scar that remained on Eli began to hurt. His
fingers curled into Jersey’s shirt as he shook badly.

“Mallon. You just keep coming back to get your ass spanked,”

Jersey sneered as he took a step back, pushing Eli into the wall. “Why

Eli’s Way

don’t you go play with your fucking ghouls and get the hell out of
here?”

The man took a step forward, his eyes cold and void of any

emotion as he jerked his chin toward Eli. “I’d much rather pick up
where I left off with him.”

Lynn Hagen

Chapter Eight

Buck looked around the living room and noticed that he hadn’t

seen Jersey in a while. That little ass annoying Taras kept following
him around, trying to flirt with Buck. The guy wasn’t his type, and
was arrogant as hell.

Buck could tell that fucking Taras would be a bad decision, so he

tried fruitlessly to stay away from the punk.

It wasn’t like his brother to shuck his responsibilities. Even

though Christian had appointed Eli to babysit the shit, Jersey wouldn’t
be too far. Besides, he hadn’t seen Eli either. Where in the fuck were
they?

“Problem?” Isla asked.
Yeah, there was a problem. His little brother wasn’t anywhere in

the place. His eyes kept searching the crowd. Normally he wouldn’t
have thought anything of Jersey’s disappearance. The guy liked going
out to feed on his own. But his brother was mated now, and this was
an important night. Jersey wouldn’t have taken off. “Have you seen
Jersey or Eli?”

Isla shook his head. “Not in a while.”
Their eyes locked and then Buck cursed. Something had to be

wrong for his brother not to be here. Buck and Isla headed for the
front door, going in search of Jersey and his mate.

* * * *

Jersey was trying his best to get his heart rate under control. It

wouldn’t do him any good for Mallon to know how truly scared he

Eli’s Way

was. Not for himself, but for Eli. His mate had made some progress,
and he feared seeing Mallon would unravel Eli and make him spiral
back down into his combative ways. Facing his attacker might be too
much for his mate right now. He was still too new at all of this, his
vampire life, his acceptance of who he truly was. He didn’t need this
added bullshit.

He hissed and bared his fangs when the crazy bastard took a step

closer.

“Am I supposed to be frightened of you?” Mallon snapped,

looking irritated at being denied Eli. “Hand him over.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Jersey asked as he pressed his back

into Eli’s smaller frame. He wanted to rip the vampire’s throat out but
was afraid to leave his mate’s side. He didn’t trust the crazy bastard in
the least.

For all he knew, this could very well be a trap. Jersey had

wondered why Mallon kept coming around, and now he knew. Eli.
But what he couldn’t figure out was why he wanted Eli. His mate had
been a pawn in his evil plans, no one special to Mallon. So why did he
keep coming back for him?

He cocked his head slightly when he saw Shelby peeking at them

from behind the house. That was all he needed right now. Defending
Eli was enough. He didn’t need to add Shelby to the mix. He quickly
cut his eyes back to Mallon. He didn’t want the vampire to know that
Shelby was close.

An evil grin tilted the sides of Mallon’s lips. His eyes cut over to

Shelby and then back at Jersey. “Maybe I’ve found a new play toy,”
he said as he tipped his head toward the back of the house. “Come on
out, young one. Come play with us.”

“Get back in the house!” Jersey shouted, but it was too late.

Mallon was fast as fuck as he appeared at Shelby’s side in under a
millisecond. The small vampire’s eyes widened as he stared at Jersey,
pleading for him to do something. Jersey wasn’t going to let Mallon

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take Shelby. He had seen the man’s handiwork, and he wasn’t going
to have Shelby be his next victim.

“Let him go, Mallon,” Jersey said in a low and threatening voice.

He was tired of these games. Why couldn’t the vampire do everyone a
solid and off himself? It would make life so much simpler for
everyone.

“Or what?” Mallon asked in a maliciously teasing tone. “What can

you do to me?”

“Nothing.” Jersey smirked when he saw the three elders standing

behind Mallon. “But they can.”

Mallon hissed and twirled around, releasing Shelby as he fought

the three vampires. Jersey shot forward and grabbed Shelby, thrusting
him behind his back as he watched the fight. As impossible as it was,
Mallon was winning.

The elders fought viciously, all three coming at Mallon at the

same time, surrounding him, caging him in, and then Mallon
disappeared, disseminated right before their very eyes. The three
elders disappeared as well, giving chase.

“Get them inside,” Buck shouted from behind him.
Jersey turned to see his brother and Isla heading his way. He

tossed Shelby at Buck as he grabbed Eli and ran for it. He wasn’t
taking any chances where his mate was concerned. The three elders
had this. There really wasn’t more he could do.

He growled low when he walked through the front door and saw

Taras heading his way. He really didn’t need this shit right now. The
vampire’s nostrils were flared as he stomped his way over to Jersey
and Eli.

“Where have you been? Some host you’re turning out to be!”
Jersey counted to ten before he did something very bad to the

vampire. He had enough of vampires with nasty attitudes for one
night. He ignored the indignant man and walked his mate downstairs,
straight to his bedroom. Eli hadn’t said a word and that worried
Jersey, but first he needed to get his mate someplace safe.

Eli’s Way

He closed his bedroom door, locking it before turning back to his

mate. Eli stood there in a daze, a strange expression on his face.
Jersey wasn’t sure what he should do. “You know I’ll never let him
get his hands on you, right?”

Eli blinked a few times and then seemed to snap out of whatever

daze he had been in. He looked around the room, his eyes settling on
his stuff that he had brought from the apartment that they still hadn’t
put away. Eli then looked up at Jersey, a smile spreading across his
face. Jersey wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or nervous. Was his
mate okay, or was he at the beginning of a nervous breakdown?

Jersey slowly guided Eli over to their bed, setting his mate down

on the side of it as he walked to the bathroom to get a cold cloth.
When he came back, he saw that Eli had relaxed a few degrees, but
was still sitting stiffly.

“I’m fine,” Eli said, but his body language belied his nonchalant

words. He ran the cloth over the back of Eli’s neck. He wasn’t sure
why he was doing that, but he remembered Buck doing it once to him
when Jersey had freaked out in his teenage years after his first sexual
encounter with a man. If his mate only knew that they had walked the
same paths when it came to revealing who they truly were. They had
more in common than his mate knew.

“Feeling better?” he asked as he pulled the cloth away and

chucked it toward the bathroom.

“It’s just a little shocking,” Eli confessed as he pushed further

back onto the bed. “To face the man who had…”

“I know.” Jersey pulled Eli close, cradling his mate in his arms.

“Just remember that you survived and I won’t let anyone else hurt
you.”

Jersey could hear Eli’s erratic pulse as he wrapped his arms tightly

around his mate. There were times in a man’s life when he felt
helpless, powerless to stop someone he loved from hurting within.
This was one of those times. Eli’s pain wasn’t a physical being that he
could slay and make everything better. It was something within

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himself that he had to come to terms with, and the only thing that
Jersey could do was be there for him when Eli finally let go.

He didn’t know what it was like to be kidnapped from the street,

whipped and bitten until he no longer resembled a man, broken until
he no longer wanted to live. No, this was one time Jersey couldn’t
identify with his mate. And that was where the helplessness came in.

Eli tilted his head back, his eyes haunted, lost, as he took a deep

breath. He leaned forward, placing a kiss on Eli’s lips. It started off
slow, gentle, comforting, but soon turned into something that made
Jersey’s heart rocket. He wasn’t sure if Eli was trying to use sex as a
way to cope or if it was even the right thing to do. But Jersey was out
of his depth and gave in to whatever Eli needed to plant his feet
firmly on the ground once more.

He opened wide, letting Eli take the lead, letting his mate show

him what he needed. Eli snaked a hand up Jersey’s shirt, leaving a
blazing trail everywhere it touched. Fire licked at his skin as Eli
whimpered into his mouth, pushing Jersey back onto the bed.

Whatever his mate needed to lose that lost look, Jersey would do.

He hated seeing Eli so troubled, so tortured. He wanted to erase his
pain. Eli’s hand yanked at Jersey’s shirt until he pulled it up and off,
tossing it aside as Eli’s hands skimmed over his hard chest, appraising
it, licking his lips.

His cock thickened in his jeans as Eli’s body spread out over

Jersey’s, their legs lining up as Eli began to nibble at his stiff nipples.
Jersey spread his legs, allowing Eli to fall into the apex of his thighs
as his hands ran over the soft brown spikes of Eli’s hair. Jersey
groaned as Eli traced his tongue around his nipple, making him shiver
as he lay there.

It had been a very long time since a lover had taken him to bed,

shown him the way. Jersey traced his fingers under Eli’s jaw as his
mate nursed on his flesh. His breath was becoming ragged as Eli
leaned back and tossed his shirt aside. Their bare chests rubbed
together as Eli leaned up, taking Jersey’s mouth once again.

Eli’s Way

Jersey hitched his hips, knocking their groins together as his hands

smoothed down Eli’s back and cupped his ass. He felt Eli’s warm
body against his, his cock just as hard as Jersey’s.

His head spun when Eli bit into his flesh right above his heart,

drinking from him as his lips sealed around the wound. His cock
nearly exploded as Eli drank. His hands fumbled to get their jeans off
as his mate’s fangs sank deeper. He wasn’t sure how much longer he
would last with Eli feeding from his heart.

Jersey managed to kick his jeans off and then pushed Eli’s down

his thighs. The slap of his mate’s cock against his leg made Jersey’s
skin hum to life. As Jersey gazed down at his mate, a hazy sensuality
filled Eli’s eyes. Eli licked the wound closed and kicked his pants the
rest of the way off, freeing him.

“I want…” Eli glanced down at Jersey’s groin as a blush crept

across his face. Jersey knew what his mate wanted. It was exactly
what he wanted. To be fucked by this gorgeous man. Jersey reached
over into the drawer and slapped the bottle of lube into Eli’s hand and
then spread his legs.

Eli’s eyes widened and then hooded. Jersey could see the raw,

burning passion in his mate’s eyes. His cock was hard and leaking
against his stomach as he swallowed, watching Eli pour some lube
onto his fingers and then set the bottle down. He scooted closer on his
knees, his hand disappearing between Jersey’s legs, and then he felt
wet fingers at his hole.

“Have you ever done this before?” He knew his mate was well

hidden in the closet before Jersey pulled him out, so he wasn’t sure
how much experimenting Eli had done. His chest tightened when Eli
shook his head, his fingers continuing to circle Jersey’s hole, teasing
it, as if he were afraid to breach him.

Jersey solved that problem. He pushed down on Eli’s fingers,

feeling the cool wetness enter him. Jersey groaned as Eli gasped. His
hand stilled, his eyes fixed on where his fingers were embedded in

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Jersey’s ass. Jersey smiled as he pulled back and then slid down his
mate’s fingers again.

“Add another one,” he instructed.
Eli’s gulp was audible as he slid a third finger in beside the two

that were already deep inside Jersey. He bit his bottom lip at the sting
and burn as his eyes rolled back. It had been so damn long. He had
forgotten how good it felt for his ass to be invaded. His cock jerked
and a spurt of pre-cum shot out when Eli grazed his walnut-shaped
gland.

“I’m ready. Fuck me.”
Eli gave a slight nod as he pulled his hand free. He looked like he

was about to pass out. Jersey growled. He shot up, tossing Eli to the
bed, and then climbed onto his lap, careful not to let his full weight
crush his mate.

He lifted his hips, grabbed Eli’s cock, and then guided himself

onto the hard shaft, slowly impaling himself.

“Oh my god!” Eli shouted as Jersey bottomed out. That was

exactly how Jersey felt as he leaned forward and rested his hands on
the headboard. He pulled his lower half forward and then pushed
back. The feeling was indescribable as he rode Eli’s cock.

Eli seemed to snap out of his daze as he placed his hands on

Jersey’s sides and began to thrust upward, shoving his cock deeply
into Jersey’s ass.

“That’s it, baby. Fuck me.” Jersey shifted, making sure his weight

wasn’t fully on his mate.

“Like this?” Eli asked with a bit of teasing in his voice as he

rocketed into Jersey.

“Fuck, yeah.” Jersey looked down to see his mate smiling up at

him, his sharp fangs gleaming in the low lighting. Hell if he wasn’t a
stunning sight. No man would ever look better than Eli lying under
him. And Jersey wouldn’t find out either because Eli was it for him.
“Harder, Eli.”

Eli’s Way

Eli planted his feet on the bed, his hips snapping at an incredible

speed as he fucked Jersey’s puckered hole, showing him he knew
what the hell he was doing. Jersey’s neck muscles strained as he tried
his best not to come so soon, but it wasn’t working as he felt the heat
building in his lower back.

“Eli, I—”
“Do it,” Eli growled as he thrust harder into Jersey. His fingers

curled into the headboard as his head fell back onto his shoulders.
Jersey cried out Eli’s name as his hot seed spilt onto his mate’s chest
and neck.

“Goddamn,” Eli cried out as he slammed a few more times into

Jersey’s ass, and then on the third upward stroke, he pushed his cock
deep as he stiffened, his cum bathing Jersey’s insides.

Jersey held on to the headboard as sweat glistened on his skin. He

was trying his best to catch his breath as Eli moaned while pulling
free.

“That was—”
“Yeah,” Jersey said as he caught his breath. “I know.” He rocked

back on his heels as Eli stared up at him, his eyes shining brightly. He
wasn’t sure what his mate was thinking at the moment, but he swore
he saw love in his eyes.

“We better get back to the party,” he said as he rolled from the

bed. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell his mate he loved him, but
Jersey wasn’t sure if this was the right time. Eli had been through so
much that he didn’t want to scare him away.

He bent at the waist, placing a soft kiss on Eli’s lips before getting

dressed. Jersey could see the war inside Eli from the expression on his
face, but he didn’t push to ask. Eli would talk to him when he was
ready.

They joined the others as the induction turned into a party that had

started to dwindle down with only a few people left in the living
room. One of them being Taras.

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“I swear you are the worst host ever!” he complained as soon as

he saw Eli. “We are supposed to be uniting, and the only thing you’ve
managed to do is unite you and your boyfriend here.” Taras waved his
hand at Jersey.

Jersey counted to twenty before he ended up strangling the little

brat. Taras had been nothing but a pain in the ass all evening, and
Jersey was that close to wrapping his fingers around the guy’s neck.

“I’m sorry,” Eli apologized as they walked closer. “I have been

rude. Maybe tonight I can show you around?”

“Forget it!” Taras said in a snit. “The prince has already assigned

another person for me to unite with. Thanks for your hospitality.”

Jersey’s fingers curled in as they itched. The guy was getting

closer to that strangling with every word that fell from his lips. He
grabbed his mate and walked away before the Northern coven was
one less, but Eli stopped Jersey.

“Who did the prince assign you to?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but Shelby,” Taras said as he

stomped off like a true pain in the ass.

“Oh no,” Eli said as he glanced up at Jersey. “It’s my fault Shelby

is about to be tortured.”

Jersey was going to have to keep an eye on Taras and make sure

the little hellion didn’t cause Shelby any grief. He felt bad that Taras
was given Shelby as his guide, but it was safer than keeping him.

He knew that if he stayed one more minute in Taras’s presence

that the guy would have been taught a lesson in manners, and not in a
polite way either.

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101

Chapter Nine

Harley was agitated as hell as he lifted his hand to scrub a human

couple’s minds as they passed him, heading out of the club. He’d
been standing there all night, no break, and he was hungry as fuck.

Isla and Christo were in the back room indulging in adficio

venatus, a game where the two vampires took turns biting a human,
each trying to be the one to make the human have an orgasm at his
bite. Harley was supposed to be in on the game, but he was stuck at
the door bouncing. Emilio should have been here to relieve him by
now, but he saw the fucker sneak off into a back room with some
human.

“This is all you do?”
That was another thing that irritated the hell out of Harley. What

was with the uniting thing? He didn’t need a lackey following him
around, getting all up in his business like that. His brows drew
together in an angry frown as he rounded on the vampire. “Go find
something else to do if this work is too demeaning for you.”

“Fine, whatever,” the vampire said as he walked away in a huff.

Whatever. Harley was relieved to have the guy gone. He felt like he
could relax now, but he was still hungry as hell. He gave a quick jerk
of the chin to Vaughn as the vampire walked past him.

“What’s up?” Vaughn asked as he walked over to Harley.
“I need you to man the door. I’m hungry as hell.”
Vaughn nodded as he took Harley’s place. About damn time. He

made a beeline toward the back hallway that held the rooms for the
BDSM action, wondering which room Isla and Christo had chosen to

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use when he saw Shelby running from one of the rooms, red tears
staining his cheeks.

Harley immediately stopped in his tracks and grabbed Shelby by

the arm, stopping him from running out into the throng of dancers.
“What’s wrong?”

Shelby shot a glance back toward the room he had just escaped

from, his entire body shaking under Harley’s hand. “I—”

Just then Taras walked out of the room Shelby had come from, an

evil grin on his face. Harley saw red as Shelby’s body damn near
shook apart under his hand. “What happened?” He repeated the
question.

“Nothing,” Taras sneered at Shelby. “He’s too damn chicken.”
Harley bent closer to Shelby, putting his ear close. “Tell me what

happened, Shelby,” he said gently as his eyes bore through Taras.

“He t–tried to tie me down to one of the tables and said all kinds

of things to me, promises of what he was going to do.”

“I didn’t touch you!”
“He’s lying,” Shelby said softly into Harley’s ear. That was all

Harley needed to hear. Any other vampire, he would have questioned
who was telling the truth, but he knew for a fact that Shelby wouldn’t
lie about something like this.

He grabbed Taras before he could take off, forcing his hands

behind his back. “We’ll let the prince decide who is lying,” Harley
said low and menacingly into his ear. He disappeared from the
hallway, reappearing in Christian’s office, Shelby right next to him,
worrying his hands.

Christian must have taken in the scene, Shelby with red tears

running down his cheeks as Harley bent the bastard’s arms behind his
back. He stood and walked from behind his desk, his eyes snapping
between all three.

The prince didn’t say a word as he laid his hand on Taras’s head.

His eyes began to narrow as his fangs showed off their lethality in the

Eli’s Way

103

light. “This is not how I intended for us to unite. We do not force
anyone in this club!”

Harley bent Taras’s arms back as Christian confirmed Harley’s

belief that Shelby had been telling the truth. He wanted to rip the
bastard’s arms off but stopped himself from exacting revenge. Harley
knew Christian wouldn’t fault him for it, though.

“Since he has offended you, Shelby, you name the punishment,”

Christian said as he backed away. Harley could see murder in the
prince’s eyes. They both wanted to play pull the limbs off of Taras,
but it was Shelby’s choice.

The smaller vampire looked horrified as he shook his head back

and forth. “I can’t do that.”

“It is an order,” Christian replied gently.
Harley, as well as everyone else in the coven, knew Shelby was a

nonviolent person. The small vampire was a people pleaser, not used
to giving any commands.

“T–Tie him up outside?” Shelby asked nervously. Harley could

tell the vampire didn’t want to be the one making the decision. He
looked like he was about to be sick.

Harley pulled Taras from the room before another word was

spoken. He yanked the vampire through the club, the bastard shouting
about the injustice of it all. If he wanted justice, he should have been
born human. He might have gotten away with it then.

* * * *

Eli paced back and forth in Christian’s office. He couldn’t believe

that Shelby was almost harmed because he had shucked his
responsibility. It was eating away at him. He wanted to go find Taras
and pound the snot out of him.

“It’s all my fault,” he mumbled for the hundredth time. “If I

hadn’t pushed the guy away, Christian wouldn’t have passed him off
to Shelby.”

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Jersey sighed loudly as he came up behind Eli and held him tight.

“It’s no one’s fault but Taras’s. No one could have predicted what
would happen, not even the prince. He’s chewing nails over this.
Dante swore that Taras would be dealt with harshly as soon as he was
finished with his punishment from Shelby.”

Eli turned in Jersey’s arms. “I still can’t believe he made Shelby

dole out the punishment. He was already dealing with enough.”

“Yeah, but having Shelby name his attacker’s punishment gave

him back some of the control he lost. It’s twisted logic, but I don’t
question Christian. He’s been around for a very long time. I’m sure he
knows what he’s doing.”

Still, Eli wanted to go find Shelby and make sure he was okay.

The guilt was eating him up inside. He pulled from Jersey’s arms as
he headed toward the door. “I’m going to find Shelby.”

He walked through the club until he spotted the short man talking

to Yasuko. The two seemed to be deep in conversation as he
approached. Eli had never held a conversation with the man before,
and wasn’t sure what to say to the small prince. The guy looked odd
without the baby attached to him.

Shelby’s eyes lit up as soon as he spotted Eli heading his way. Eli

took a seat at the booth on the second floor of the club. “How are you
feeling?”

Biting his bottom lip, Shelby gave a slight nod. “Better.”
“Look, I wanted to apologize to you.”
“For what?” Shelby asked as he looked at Eli questioningly.
God, this was hard. “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t left Taras hanging,

then Christian wouldn’t have reassigned him to you.”

Shelby looked even more confused. “But you didn’t make Taras

attack me, so how is it your fault?”

It was the same thing Jersey had said, but Eli still felt like he was

the one who had caused this.

“He was hitting on me the moment he walked through the door. If

you had still been uniting with him, I have a feeling he would have

Eli’s Way

105

done it anyways. That man is bad news,” Shelby said as he gave a full
body shiver. “One man’s evil is not your fault, Eli. Some people are
just bad seeds.”

Eli guessed that made sense. “Thanks,” he said around a chuckle.

“You make it sound so black and white.”

Shelby shrugged as he grinned. “It is.”
As he sat forward, Eli could see Jersey looking up at him from the

bar. His mate quickly glanced away, as if hiding the fact that he was
watching them closely. Eli grinned as he excused himself and walked
down the steps.

“Spying?”
“Who, me?” Jersey asked as he laid the palm of his hand on his

chest. “Never.”

Eli shook his head as he took a seat next to his mate. “So, I was

wondering if we could blow this Popsicle stand and get out for a
while?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Jersey said and then whistled for his

brother.

“What about Yasuko?” Eli asked as he looked up at the second

floor of the club where Yasuko and Shelby were chatting away.

“Shit,” Jersey cursed. “I’ll be right back.”
Eli watched as Jersey ran up the steps, scooped Yasuko up from

his seat, and then raced down the steps with him, carrying him toward
Christian’s office. He smiled at his mate. Jersey might look big and
badass, but he was a little kid inside. Eli realized that he didn’t want
to hide who he was around anyone any longer. He was proud to be
mated to Jersey, and it was about damn time he started showing it.

He knew he had a trip to make.
Jersey came back down the hall looking winded as he waved at

Eli. Buck joined them at the door as they walked outside. “Where to?”

“I’ll give you directions,” Eli said as he waited for the brothers to

climb into the car. There was no way he was getting in first. When the
car straightened, Eli climbed into the passenger’s seat. He settled back

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as Jersey started the car. His mate popped his CD in, and then the
music filled the car.

Eli gave his mate the directions and then settled back. He wasn’t

in the mood to dance around like a fool tonight. Butterflies were
flapping around inside of him as he began to sweat.

This was it.
Was he really going to do it? Eli fisted his hands in his lap as he

watched the houses fly past him, taking him closer to his destination.
He wasn’t sure if his mate could feel his mood or not, but Jersey had
left Eli alone to his thoughts, which he was thankful for. Buck hadn’t
even bothered him.

As they turned the corner, Eli’s heart began to beat faster and

harder in his chest. He rubbed his palms down the length of his jeans
as Jersey pulled the car over to the curb and cut the engine. “So,
where are we?”

Eli glanced over at the front door. It seemed ominous as he sat

there wondering if he really had the nerve. The living room light was
on, casting a soft glow across the front lawn. “My parents’.”

Jersey turned the stereo off as he turned in his seat, glancing out

of Eli’s window. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but you don’t have to
go in there if you don’t want to,” Jersey said quietly.

Eli glanced at Jersey, giving him a soft smile as his hand played

over the door handle. “My dad has voiced his opinion about gay
people, and it wasn’t polite.”

Jersey stiffened next to him as he looked to the backseat and then

down at Eli. “Whatever you want to do, I’m behind you. I just want
you to know that.”

Eli curled his fingers around the handle, knowing he had Jersey if

his father disowned him. It felt good knowing that he had Jersey even
if his father forgave him, too. He nodded as he pushed the car door
open and stepped out onto the tree lawn. He stood there taking a deep
breath as the brothers joined him by his side.

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Taking his first step toward the unknown, Eli walked the brick

walkway until he stood on the porch. He raised his hand, his stomach
knotting as he rang the doorbell. His body was slightly shaking as the
temperature inside of him rose a few degrees.

He usually just walked into his parents’ home, but having two

large strangers with him might frighten his parents.

The front door swung open, his father smiling widely at him until

his eyes wandered to Jersey and Buck. “Is something wrong, son?”

Everything was wrong, but Eli knew he had to do this. He was

tired of hiding. He was tired of feeling dirty and perverted for what he
felt inside. “I came to talk to you, Dad. This is Jersey and Buck,” he
said as he waved a hand to each brother and then turned to Jersey.
“This is Carl, my dad.”

They shook hands as his dad took a step back to allow them in. Eli

glanced around his childhood home. It wasn’t decked out like the
manor was, but it was lived-in, well furnished, and a place that had
brought fond memories to him every time he stepped through the
door. Eli prayed that wasn’t about to change.

His mother walked into the living room, smiling at Eli and then

the brothers. “I wish you would have told me that you were coming
with company.”

Eli glanced up at his mom, giving her a small smile as he sat down

next to Jersey, taking his large hand in his. His dad stared at the
action, saying nothing.

“Dad, I know your viewpoint on gay people, but I feel you have a

right to know that I’m gay.” Eli wasn’t sure how to start the
conversation off, so he put the truth out there and then held his breath.

Jersey gave his hand a light squeeze as Eli’s entire insides

quivered. His dad sat there, not saying a word as he continued to stare
at Eli and Jersey’s joined hands. His mom leaned closer to his dad,
placing her hand on his thigh as she smiled at Eli.

Buck fidgeted next to him. He knew the brothers were

uncomfortable and Eli hated bringing them here without fully

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disclosing what was going on, but he didn’t want either of them
talking him out of this. He had to make a stand and be who he was.

His dad stood and walked out of the living room, still not saying

one single word. Eli felt the tears fighting to fall, but he swallowed a
few times, keeping them at bay. It hurt like hell that his dad hadn’t
accepted who he was. He felt a small part of him die as he watched
his father walk from the room.

Memories of his dad teaching him how to throw a football in the

front yard or teaching him how to drive played in his mind. His dad
had been the one to teach him how to fish, taking him along on his
long fishing weekend trips. They had been close like a father and son
should be, and he had let his father down.

Eli wanted to run to his dad and beg him for forgiveness, but

being gay wasn’t a choice and Eli needed to accept who he was. He
swallowed hard as he stood on shaky legs, pulling Jersey up with him.
“I think we should go.”

His mother stood, walking across the room. Eli braced himself for

curse words or even a slap across the face. He was stunned when his
mother hugged him. “I always knew,” she whispered into his ear.
“Give him time.”

She further shocked him by hugging Jersey and then Buck. “You

boys are always welcome here.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Jersey said as he led Eli outside.
Eli turned back toward the door, looking at his mom. “Tell Dad

I’m sorry I failed him, but I tried to be the best son possible. He’s the
best dad, and if he doesn’t forgive me, tell him I still love him.”

Eli turned, feeling like he was walking down a long and lonely

road as his feet carried him to the car. A part of him was still sitting in
his parents’ home as Jersey and then Buck climbed into the car.

“Eli?”
He spun around to see his dad standing in the driveway, his hands

shoved in his front pockets. Eli glanced over at Jersey, who had
climbed back out, his arms resting on the roof. Feeling like a man

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walking to his execution, Eli crossed the yard, stopping a few feet
away from his dad.

“I don’t understand,” his father said as he looked over at the

bushes that sat nestled closely to the house. He looked just as lost and
confused as Eli felt at the moment. He wanted to reach out, but was
afraid his father would reject him.

“I know.”
“I—” His dad let out a long breath and then cleared his throat. “I

don’t know what to say.”

“Me either,” Eli admitted. “I’m still the son you raised, the same

Eli that looks up to you and loves you more than anything.”

His dad gave a slight nod as he looked down at the ground. Eli’s

heart was pounding so hard that the blood rushing at his ears was
loud, almost drowning out every noise around him. He hugged his
midsection as he waited for his dad to speak. It felt like the seconds
stretched into forever as they stood there silently.

“I love you, Dad.”
Carl nodded as he looked toward the car that Jersey was waiting

at. “I’ll see you Sunday?”

Eli grinned as he nodded his head. “I’ll be here Sunday.”
As his father turned to walk away, he stopped, not turning around

as his shoulders slumped. “You can bring your…” He sighed and then
walked away.

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Chapter Ten

Jersey’s legs carried him at a fast pace as he ran through the

woods. He was close, real close as he panted, his knives drawn and in
his hands as he ducked a low branch. His feet slammed against the
hard earth as Buck, Christian, and Dante ran with him.

He wasn’t sure why Christian hadn’t just transported them to the

location, but he wasn’t going to argue the point. He slowed slightly as
he maneuvered down an embankment. Glancing over his shoulder, he
saw his brother right behind him. Buck’s face was grim as he
managed the downward momentum.

Christian’s arms were pumping hard as he took off once he

cleared the embankment, Dante at his side. The brothers caught up, all
four weaving their way through the darkness. Jersey noticed that he
didn’t hear one single animal in their area. The quiet was eerie. When
Christian slowed, signaling them to stop, Jersey walked quietly to the
prince’s side.

Standing there in the middle of the forest, Jersey heard a strange

noise off to his left. It almost sounded like chanting, but who would
be in the middle of nowhere chanting? He listened closely. Christian
hadn’t said why they were here. He just said that he needed Buck and
Jersey to help him.

The chanting started to die down, lowering to a soft hum. The

prince and Dante moved slowly toward a small clump of bushes,
Jersey and Buck following close behind the two. Jersey’s anger flared
when he saw Mallon standing in a small clearing, his arms raised as
he spoke softly. There were half a dozen men standing there,

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111

humming. They stood in a circle around the ex-elder, all watching
Mallon with a look of reverence on their faces.

Jersey wanted to storm over to the bastard and bleed him dry.

Mallon didn’t deserve to live after what he had done to Eli. His
mate’s scars might have healed, but that didn’t mean Eli had forgotten
any of the horrific things that had happened to him.

Christian walked a little closer, raising his hands high as he began

to chant in a language that Jersey didn’t recognize. Mallon spun
around, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the four of them. “Do you
think you can stop me?”

Christian didn’t answer him as he continued to chant, his eyes

closed as his arms rose higher. Jersey stood next to his prince, ready
to die to defend him.

“Get them,” Mallon shouted at the six men that had surrounded

him in a circle. They screeched as they raced toward the four. Jersey
raised his knives, letting them swing as the first of their attackers
drew close, Jersey cutting the ghoul across his shoulder. Jersey had no
doubt who they were. The stench alone gave them away.

The thing howled as it gnashed his teeth, trying to bite Jersey. He

wanted to curse at the thing but was afraid of breaking Christian’s
concentration. His brother and Dante remained quiet as well as they
fought the lamia that raced toward them. Jersey used his knives
skillfully. There was no way he was biting into one of those hideous
things.

“What are you doing?” Mallon shouted from off in the distance.

Jersey wanted to look, but he was too busy trying to kill the unholy
thing in front of him. He should be the one who went after Mallon,
the one who killed him, but Jersey took his rage out on the ghoul
instead. He knew that Mallon had grown powerful, too powerful for
Jersey to kill with his bare hands.

Jersey swung one of his knives, catching the lamia across his

throat. He pushed all of his weight into the knife, decapitating the foul
creature.

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He spun to help his brother when a soft glow began. He turned his

head to see Mallon slowly rising into the air, screaming as he writhed
around. Christian kept chanting. His facial features relaxed, and then
his arms swung out.

Jersey grimaced when the elder died a gruesome death. He turned

around, sickened by what had just happened. His attention went back
to his brother, helping him destroy the foul creatures that Mallon had
called forth.

When he and Buck killed the last one they had been fighting,

Jersey turned to see Dante finishing off the ghoul that was trying to
bite him. The leader of the Northern coven was quick, fierce, and
swift as he took the thing down. Jersey had a new respect for the
vampire.

“It is finished,” Christian said as he disseminated back to the club,

taking the brothers with him.

Jersey breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Eli sitting on the

couch waiting for him. He turned to the prince. “Why didn’t we just
pop in when we went after him?”

Christian walked toward the office door, sparing Jersey a glance.

“Because he would have felt it if we had. We needed the element of
surprise on our side.”

Made sense to him.
Buck walked out of the office after Christian. Jersey turned

toward his mate, pulling him into his arms. “Mallon is dead.”

Eli gave a quick nod as he stared up at Jersey. Damn, he would

never get tired of gazing into his mate’s beautiful hazel eyes. They
were like sparkling gems. He dipped his head, slanting his mouth and
capturing Eli’s lips. They were so soft and perfect. Jersey cupped the
back of Eli’s head as he explored his mate’s wondrous mouth.

Jersey pulled his mate close, Eli jumping up and wrapping his legs

around his waist. He pushed his fingers past Eli’s waistband, his
fingers playing over his mate’s smooth skin. The scars were finally
gone, a distant memory.

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Eli had a compact, solid body that Jersey loved exploring. He bit

gently into Eli’s lips, drawing the blood out as he walked slowly to
the office door and locked it. His hand swung back to Eli’s skin,
caressing it with his fingers as he deepened the kiss. He knew his
mate was still hurting over his father. Eli had told him what was said
in the driveway, and Jersey was thankful that Carl still wanted to be a
part of Eli’s life, even if he had a hard time with his son’s preference.

Jersey’s cock was throbbing as Eli ground his ass down onto his

shaft, making him forget whatever it was he had been thinking about.
He broke the kiss, his thumb running back and forth over Eli’s cheek
as he stared down into his amazing eyes. “I love you, Eli.”

“I love you, too, Jersey,” Eli replied as his lips began to graze

over Jersey’s neck. He leaned his back against the door, his head
tilted back as he began to breathe heavily. Eli’s pink tongue lapped
over his neck, teasing.

Setting Eli on his feet, they both kicked their jeans off quickly and

then their shirts. Eli jumped back into Jersey’s arms, smiling as he
kissed Jersey’s chest, his tongue trailing from one nipple to the other.
Jersey moaned when Eli latched onto one of them and began to suck
hard. His head was spinning as his mate pinched the other hued disc.

Jersey reached beneath him and lined his cock up, working it in

slowly as Eli bit into his chest, drinking from him and at the same
time pushing down onto his cock. Jersey’s legs were shaking as he
leaned his full weight into the door. His head rocked back and forth as
his mate fed, tugging on his skin as he sucked from his vein.

The warmth of Eli’s lips on his chest was intoxicating. Wrapping

his arms around his mate, Jersey began to plunge in and out of his
tight hole, feeling as though he was spiraling downward into the
depths of pleasure. His body was buzzing, his cock throbbing as he
pushed it further into his mate’s body. His damn eyes rolled back into
his head. The feeling was incredible.

Licking the wound closed, Eli wrapped his arms around Jersey’s

neck, leaning in closely as Jersey took his turn feeding from his mate.

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When Eli’s blood splashed across his tongue, Jersey snapped his hips
harder, determined to bring his mate off. He growled as he drank
deeply, his cock pulling back and then slamming back into his mate’s
body. Eli leaned back, tilting his head further to the side.

Extracting his teeth, Jersey licked the wound closed as he ran his

hands up and down his mate’s back, feeling his orgasm approaching.
He reached between their hard bodies, tugging at Eli’s cock as his
hips snapped.

Eli threw his head back, crying out as Jersey milked every last

drop from his mate. The tightening of Eli’s hole around his dick was
too much. Jersey roared as he came, spilling his seed inside his mate.

His skin was slick with sweat as Eli eased his body off of Jersey’s.

He missed the closeness as soon as Eli moved away. He’d never get
enough of Eli, not in a million years.

* * * *

Eli swung his hips, trying his best to mimic Jersey’s moves on the

dance floor. He couldn’t believe he was actually dancing in public!
He normally had two left feet, but with his mate’s help, he was
actually quite graceful.

Jersey grinned as Eli seductively worked his way around his

mate’s body, his hands grabbing Jersey’s nicely shaped ass. Visions
of the night Jersey had rode Eli’s cock had his shaft hardening.

He rubbed his cock into the back of Jersey, grinding it into his ass

as his hands skimmed up and down his mate’s back. This was kind of
fun. Never before had he felt so liberated. Eli didn’t care what other
people thought as he worked his way back around to face Jersey.

“You’re gonna fuck me,” Jersey whispered into Eli’s ear, making

him instantly pant at the dirty promise. He had to admit, fucking
Jersey had been everything and more. Eli was usually the receiver, but
he became quickly addicted to giving as well.

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“It’ll be my pleasure.” He damn near purred the words into

Jersey’s ear. The thought had him horny as fuck. Images of pounding
deep into Jersey’s ass had his mouth watering. Eli ran his hand over
the large bulge in Jersey’s pants, squeezing the head as his mate ran
his hands over Eli’s shoulders, pulling him closer.

Eli spotted Jimmy waving him over to the bar. “Now?” he

mouthed.

Jimmy nodded and waved once more. Eli growled low as he told

Jersey he would be right back. Eli was going to neuter Jimmy right
there at the bar if it wasn’t important. He pushed his way through the
crowd, taking a seat on one of the empty stools. “What?”

Jimmy gave him a devilish grin as he slid the glass of crimson

across the scarred counter. “I’ve finally perfected this. Take a drink.”

Was he serious? He called him away from Jersey for this? “You

know I don’t drink that stuff.”

“Come on.” Jimmy pouted. “Take a drink for old time’s sake.”
Eli eyed the glass, swallowing hard as his fingers wrapped around

the stem. He remembered the last time Jimmy had slid him a glass.
That shit had been disgusting. Was he really going to try again?

He wasn’t too sure about this. He didn’t like getting blood from

anywhere but his mate. Eli tilted the glass close to his nose as he took
a whiff. His nose wrinkled as he set the glass down. “It smells like
blood.”

Jimmy pointed at the glass and looked at Eli with exasperation.

“It’s supposed to smell like blood, dork. Now drink up.”

Eli picked the glass up once more, the tip of his tongue slowly

closing the gap to the crimson liquid. He pulled the cup away at the
last minute, shaking his head. “I can’t do it.”

Before he knew what Jimmy was doing, his best friend stuck his

finger into the cup and then shoved it into Eli’s mouth. The taste
exploded on Eli’s tongue as he smacked Jimmy’s hand away. “Do
that again and I’ll kick your ass.”

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“Yeah, yeah. How does it taste?” Jimmy leaned into the counter,

his eyes locked onto Eli’s, a look of hopefulness in his eyes.

Eli smacked his lips, running his tongue over the roof of his

mouth as he sampled what Jimmy had shoved in there. “Not bad.” He
was surprised that crimson wasn’t metallic tasting and bitter. It was
pretty damn good…for blood.

“Hot damn!” Jimmy whooped. “I finally got it right.”
“No shit,” Winston said as he walked down the length of the bar

and grabbed the glass, barely letting it touch his lips as he took a tiny
sip. “I’ll be damned, you did.”

Jimmy did some weird dance behind the bar, shaking his ass

around as his arms flailed in the air. “I did it!”

Eli laughed as he shook his head. The things that made his best

friend happy. As he turned around toward his mate, Eli spotted some
guy pushing up on Jersey, getting all close and personal. His temper
shot through the roof as he pushed away from the stool, his fangs
bared as he knocked people out of the way.

“Mine!” he shouted as he approached his mate, pushing the

stranger off of Jersey. “Mine!” he repeated. His chest was heaving as
he glared at the human with so many piercings that his face was hard
to discern.

“But—”
Eli swung around, hissing at his mate. “You’re mine!” There were

no buts about it. He didn’t want to hear anything Jersey had to say. He
reached up and sank his fangs into Jersey’s neck, staking his claim
right there on the dance floor.

Jersey shuddered in his arms as he wrapped his arms around Eli.

Jimmy might have perfected crimson, but nothing would ever
compare to the taste of Jersey’s blood on his lips. He extracted his
fangs, licking the wound closed as he rounded on the human. The guy
was long gone, leaving Eli feeling triumphant.

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“He was only whispering in my ear because I couldn’t hear him

over the crowd. He asked where the bathroom was,” Jersey said
around a big grin.

Eli should have felt ashamed at his actions, but he didn’t. He

wanted everyone to know Jersey was his and he wasn’t sharing. He
grabbed his mate by the hand as he stormed off of the dance floor,
heading to the second floor to teach his mate about getting too close
to anyone, no matter the reason.

* * * *

The Manacle was packed to the brim for a Thursday night. Jersey

stood next to Harley at the front door, helping him monitor how many
came out so they knew how many to give admittance to.

He had to admit, he liked bouncing. There was always something

going on inside and out. He had already broken up two fights tonight
between humans who were plastered. It seemed the drunker humans
became, the more violent they tended to become. But not all humans
were like that. Some become very hands-on while others laughed and
had a good time.

Jersey started to get an idea who were the troublemakers of the

crowd. They were usually very loud when they stood in line waiting
to get in and very rude. Those were the ones he allowed into the club
last. They always had a few choice words for him, but knew better
than to start any trouble. One look from Jersey usually quieted them.

Baring his fangs didn’t hurt either.
Harley bumped Jersey’s shoulder and gave a jerk of his chin.

Jersey looked off in the direction where Harley was nodding. He
spotted a few men lingering toward the back of the line, talking to a
few humans. His hackles rose at the sight. He could spot rogues in a
crowd of one thousand men.

“I’m going to get Christian,” Harley said as he walked into the

club. Jersey kept his eyes on the men, cursing when he saw the

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dumbass humans walk off with them. He glanced at the line and then
back into the club. There was no way he was allowing rogues to kill
innocent humans.

“Hey, come here,” he called to a large man standing in line. The

guy stepped out of line and walked forward. “I need you to man the
door while I take care of a problem. Don’t let anyone in until the other
bouncer gets back.” He thought about the mind scrubbing thing and
cursed. “And don’t let anyone leave either.”

“You got it,” the guy said as he took up post at the door. His face

was grim as he stared at the people in line. Jersey rolled his eyes as he
took off toward the alley. He had heard that rogues were working
together. He even knew for a fact that two rogues had attacked Jimmy
the night he had come here to party, but seeing was something totally
different.

The closer to the alley Jersey came, the angrier he got. He would

never understand the need to kill a donor. It was senseless to him. If
donors started dying, they would be afraid to come out at night. And
then where would the vampires be? It made absolutely no sense to
him at all.

As he rounded the corner, he saw that only one human was

standing there among three rogues. The other humans must have
grown a brain and taken off. Too bad the smaller man hadn’t. He was
looking between the three men with a terrified expression on his face.

Jersey cursed. “Get the fuck away from him!” he shouted.
The rogues turned and hissed at Jersey. Really? What was that

supposed to do, scare him? He pounded the pavement with his feet as
he raced after the three vampires. They took off running in the
opposite direction.

Pussies.
He stopped running and approached the man still standing there

stunned. The guy stood there, staring at the fleeing men.

“They were vampires!”

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Jersey nodded as he placed a hand on the guy’s head, scrubbing

his mind.

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Chapter Eleven

Eli stood on the front step of his parents’ home. It was Sunday.

The night when his parents were having the family dinner. He
swallowed hard as he rang the doorbell. Eli normally just walked right
in, but having Jersey with him made him think twice.

His mother opened the door, smiling at him and Jersey as she

waved a hand. “Come in, boys.” Eli preceded Jersey as he stepped
into the house. He could hear his Aunt Elda laughing from the
kitchen, along with his cousin Madeline and her husband Sam. He
heard other voices as well and knew more of his family was here.

“Everyone is in the kitchen as you can hear,” his mom said as she

grabbed Jersey’s arm and walked him to his doom. Eli wanted to grab
his mate and run, but he knew that he had to face his family.

Eli had been worried about coming here. He was a vampire now,

so how was he going to eat? Jersey explained to him that he could eat,
but he would throw it up later. Eli was so not looking forward to
eating.

He walked into the kitchen to a slew of family members. Eli

smiled at the babies that were running around, playing tag with each
other as everyone stopped talking and looked up at the pair standing
in the doorway.

“So it’s true,” Aunt Elda said as she walked around the island and

assessed Jersey. “You went and got yourself a boyfriend.”

Eli could feel his face heat as he entwined his fingers with

Jersey’s. He wasn’t going to hide who he was any longer. “It’s true,
Aunt Elda.” His heart was hammering in his chest as he faced his
entire family. He had never felt so vulnerable in his life. Jersey

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surprised him by wrapping an arm around his shoulder, pulling Eli
close.

“Is that a problem?” Jersey asked, narrowing his eyes at Elda.
God, was Eli proud of his mate at that moment. He knew if his

whole family turned their backs on him, he still had Jersey. It was the
same feeling he got when he finally came out to his parents the other
night.

“Not at all.” Aunt Elda smiled, slapping Jersey on his wide chest.

“He’s family. We accept family any way they are,” she finished and
then glared over at Eli’s father. Eli hadn’t even noticed his dad
standing off to the side talking with Uncle Bert.

Their eyes locked, and then his dad looked away. It hurt like hell,

but Eli refused to let it show. He was glad his aunt hadn’t turned her
back on him. Eli loved Elda dearly.

“Get in here so we can have a look at you,” Aunt Elda said as she

pulled Jersey into the kitchen. Eli smiled as the women swarmed his
mate, poking at his muscles and asking him a thousand and one
questions.

He stood in the doorway alone, unsure of what to do. The men

were all standing off to the side, eyeing him. Uncle Bert finally
walked over and began talking with him. “So, what plans do the two
of you have?”

Eli began to talk with Bert, using him as a lifeline as he

remembered to hide his fangs. Jersey had taught him how to do that as
well.

The other men slowly made their way over, some curious, others

not caring that he was gay. His dad was the last to make his way to
Eli.

He didn’t say much, but he moved even closer, standing next to

Eli.

As the newness died down, Eli became less anxious and more

relaxed. Jersey had looked across the kitchen a few times smiling at

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Eli, even winking at him. He couldn’t believe how much he loved that
large vampire.

“Dinner is ready,” his mom announced as everyone migrated

toward the dining room. Eli took a seat next to Jersey as dinner got
underway. The food tasted like sand in his mouth, but Eli faked his
enthusiasm and smiled at his mom, telling her how wonderful it
tasted. Jersey didn’t have a problem. He ate everything on his plate
and went back for seconds. The man was an eating machine.
Something his mother raved over.

As the evening winded down, his mother packed leftovers for him

and Jersey. His mate whooped at all the plastic bowls with lids that
she piled into a bag. “You can’t have this until you leave,” his mom
warned Jersey with a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. “But there are
plenty of leftovers still in the kitchen if you want—”

Jersey took off before his mother could finish her sentence. She

laughed as she turned toward Eli. “That man sure can eat.”

“You have no idea,” he replied as he shook his head.
Eli headed back toward the kitchen when his father stepped into

his path. “How have you been?”

It had only been a few days since he had seen his dad, so Eli knew

Carl was reaching for something to say.

“I’m fine, Dad. How is everything going at work?” The

conversation was awkward, but his dad was reaching out, and Eli was
clinging as well. He knew they had a long way to go before his dad
fully accepted his choice, but he was trying and that was the important
thing.

* * * *

Christian’s finger tapped on the table as he looked over the top

ranking in his coven. The uniting attempt hadn’t worked as well as he
had hoped. There were a few fights, some unwelcomed biting, and
Shelby’s disaster.

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He had to find a way to unite his people before the rogues

completely took over and he had to wake the higher counsel. That was
something that Christian would use as a very last resort.

The higher counsel consisted of two ancient vampires, two

vampires that didn’t hold the compassion that Christian had. They
would kill every single rogue and then start on the underbelly of
human society. They didn’t discriminate when it came to cleansing
the earth of the seedy and criminal beings.

That was one of the reasons Christian had put them into a deep

sleep. His younger twin brothers had gotten out of control when they
were at their highest reign of power. Ceri and Rhys had nearly gone
rogue killing off society’s scum.

He cleared his throat as he leaned forward, eyeing each vampire in

the room. “My quest to unite our covens didn’t go as planned. If we
don’t unite, the rogues will overtake us.” What he failed to mention
was that the ancient triad—which consisted of Christian and his
younger brothers—could stop the problem immediately, but that
would mean wiping out half of the world’s population. That was
something Christian wasn’t willing to do.

“Maybe we should go at this from another angle,” Christo

suggested. “Maybe we could approach the other coven members
individually. I’d be willing to take the first.”

Christian nodded. That meant a longer turnover time, but

something needed to be done. “You can have the brothers, August and
Brandon. They seem to think that they still belong in the Northern
coven. I want them to see that it doesn’t matter what coven they
belong to. We are all one. They’ve given Emilio a run for his money.
I think it’s time to hand them over to someone else.” Christian nodded
at Emilio, letting him know that there were no hard feelings and it
wasn’t his fault.

Christo nodded his agreement. “I’ll take them both under my

wing.”

124

Lynn Hagen

In the meantime, Christian had to figure out a quicker way. They

were losing vampires at an alarming rate to the dark and seductive
side of their race.

He pushed away from the table, Minsheng following him as he

wondered what he could do to bring the vampire race together. Ceri
and Rhys wouldn’t stay asleep much longer, and to be honest,
Christian missed them.

If only he could find a way to make them less lethal to the world,

he could wake them and reunite.

* * * *

Jersey kissed Eli up his bare spine as the two lay in bed enjoying

their time together. His hands ghosted over Eli’s shoulder, kissing his
mate softly on his skin. Eli moved closer to Jersey, his back forming
into Jersey’s chest.

It had been weeks since his mate was found bloody and broken,

and Jersey had fallen madly in love with the man. He couldn’t see a
life without him.

His fingers played over Eli’s shoulder as he ran his cheek over his

mate’s hair, thankful that Eli had survived not only his ordeal, but the
aftermath as well.

Eli turned in his arms, gazing up at Jersey with those gorgeous

hazel-green eyes. His chest tightened at the magnificent sight. “I love
you,” he whispered before taking Eli’s lips in a scorching kiss. He
couldn’t seem to get enough of his mate. Just being near him made
Jersey harder than a rock.

His mate moaned into the kiss, pushing until he was draped over

Jersey’s body. Their cocks grazed together, setting Jersey’s blood on
fire. His mate was hard, compact, and chiseled. He was short, but
Jersey wouldn’t have him any other way.

Eli’s Way

125

Jersey inhaled sharply when Eli began to nuzzle at his neck, the

tips of his fangs grazing his skin. His cock throbbed out a beat to
match his heart at the feeling of Eli being so close.

He ran his finger down the crease on Eli’s backside as his mate

nipped at his skin. It was so fucking erotic that Jersey thought he
would lose his mind. His finger drew a lazy circle around Eli’s
puckered hole, pressing the tip in slightly.

Eli pushed back onto Jersey’s finger as he lapped at his neck. “I

used to think that being with a man was depraved.”

“And now?” Jersey asked, his finger continuing its lazy rotation.
“You’ve helped me realize there’s nothing wrong with what I

need from you. You’ve helped me through a lot of things, Jersey, and
I love you for that.”

Jersey grinned as he reached for the lube, coating his fingers and

then inserting two into his mate’s tight ass. “It was my honor to show
you the way.”

Eli groaned, spreading his legs apart to give Jersey more room. He

twisted his wrist, stretching his mate as he took Eli’s lips again. The
kiss was slow, drugging as he added a third finger.

When Eli started fucking his fingers, Jersey pulled them free and

replaced them with his cock. Eli slowly lowered himself, his eyes
closing, a look of pure bliss on his face. Jersey looked up at his mate
as Eli straddled his hips, feeling nothing but pure love for the smaller
man.

“Ride me, baby.”
Eli planted his feet on the bed, his palms on Jersey’s chest as he

drove Jersey’s cock up into his ass. Jersey planted his feet on the bed
as well, driving hard into Eli’s ass at the same time. He tucked his
hands behind his head, enjoying the lazy evening they were sharing.
Jersey didn’t want to be anywhere else but lying under his mate
getting fucked, or fucking the man that had changed his life forever.