Daric’s Mate (The Vampire Coalition #5)(19)
Author: J.S. Scott

“Oh, God. The fallen . The backlash.” In all the turmoil of the evening, she had forgotten about the pain that Daric would suffer very shortly.

Daric’s father smiled, the first genuine smile Hannah had seen from him. “There will be no backlash. Your mate wields the Carvillius Sword. It’s one of the benefits of being King. As long as the sword is used to defeat evil, there will be no backlash. It wouldn’t do to have a king out of commission.” His smile grew even broader as he added, “And he has a mating that needs to occur very soon. He’s pushed himself far enough.”

Hannah’s tension dissipated, and she returned the ancient king’s smile with one of her own. “I’ll make certain it does, Your Majesty.”

“I’m no longer king, but I’d be honored to call you daughter,” he answered, his ancient eyes filled with longing.

Hannah looked at her mate, her eyes filled with tears. Daric’s father was asking for forgiveness, for absolution for his actions that had been caused by something out of his control.

He’s here now. He loves you, Daric. I don’t think he ever meant to hurt anyone. Hannah sent the thoughts to her mate, asking him silently if he forgave his parent.

Her mate’s fierce gaze connected with hers as he answered. I have a mate and I know now how a vampire can lose his mind quite easily because of her.

Daric shot her an accusing look, a glance of warning that he wasn’t done with the issue of her putting herself in harm’s way.

Hannah stepped forward, pulling her hand from Daric’s as she embraced his father. “Thank you,” she whispered quietly as she hugged the ancient ruler.

“No. Thank you, daughter,” he answered as he hugged her tightly, his voice choked with emotion.

A low growl vibrated through the air as Daric stepped forward and pulled her back against him. “Mine,” he grunted, his arms coming possessively around her.

His father released her with a hearty laugh. “If he’s jealous of an ancient spirit, you’d best get the mating done.” He sobered as he added in a booming voice, “All Hail King Daric Carvillius, King of the Vampire Healers. Heed him, serve him and you shall be rewarded with your mate.”

Hannah watched in fascinated awe as one by one, vampire healers appeared, until the streets were filled with healers kneeling before their newly-appointed King.

“Will they find their mates now?” she asked, desperately hoping that Daric’s healers were finally going to be happy.

“They will,” Daric’s father answered confidently. “The damage I did has finally abated. Liam and Regan started the healing and it will continue from this day on.” The ancient king’s voice started to lose its power. “Be happy, my son and daughter.”

“Father!” Daric let go of Hannah long enough to reach for his father, taking the man into his arms for an emotional hug. “No regrets. No guilt. I understand,” Daric told his father in a husky voice.

“I love you, son,” his father answered weakly, clinging to Daric.

“I love you,” Daric said gruffly, his eyes moist as he clung to the dissipating image of his parent until the elderly king had completely faded away.

Tears spilled from Hannah’s eyes as she melted into Daric’s shuddering body. Finally, her vampire healer had found peace.

Daric turned, facing the masses with her cradled at his side, cringing as he saw all of the healers, Adare and the Hale brothers kneeling before him. “Oh, Christ! Get up. I hate that shit.” He eyed his subjects, his eyes intense. “Go back to work. Kissing up to me isn’t going to get you a mate any faster,” he told them in a booming voice that carried his comment to the mass of healers before him.

The healers vanished with a mental command from Daric, leaving only the Hale brothers and Adare before him. The men rose, all of them smirking at Daric.

“You aren’t going to insist that we kneel to our King now?” Liam asked curiously.

“Hell, no. This is a new generation of royalty. No kneeling. No scraping and bowing. It irritates me,” he grumbled. “You’ve all shown your respect for my mate. Now leave us.”

“So being King makes no difference to you?” Nathan asked in a low voice filled with mischief.

Daric’s look was evil as he replied, “Yeah. It means I have a bigger…sword.” He manifested the Carvillius Sword and waved it in the direction of the Hale brothers menacingly. “Now leave before I show you the hard way just how powerful I am.”

Ethan snickered. “He’s got a bad case of the mating compulsion.”

“Can I kiss Hannah good-bye before I go?” Rory asked cheerfully.

Hannah’s lips curled, knowing the brothers were needling Daric. As she felt his body tense, she wasn’t entirely sure that was a good idea at the moment.

“You will go before you leave your mates widowed and alone. Take care of the clean-up with the humans in town before you go home,” Daric boomed, his command so forceful that Hannah stepped back in alarm.

One by one, the Hale brothers and Adare took their leave with a knowing smile, each sending Hannah a playful wink before teleporting away without another word. The brothers might like to tease, but they were far from stupid.

The night was suddenly deadly quiet. Hannah watched Daric as he dissolved the Carvillius Sword and focused his intensity on her.

“You, my dearest mate, will answer for disobeying me about your safety!” he snarled as he stalked her.

She stepped back, the fury in his eyes startling her. Never once, after their first meeting, had she truly feared Daric, and she wasn’t afraid of him now; however, she’d have to be daft not to be cautious about approaching him when he was in this mood. “I wanted to clear my schedule so we could spend the evening together. I planned to be home before dark. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want you to be f**king sorry. I want you to listen to me when I tell you that I won’t tolerate you being stubborn when it comes to your safety. Dammit. I need you to be safe,” he told her harshly, latching onto her arm as he spoke.

Hannah sighed as Daric pulled her into his body, seeing his mind exploding with thoughts of something happening to her, images of what he had seen when he had arrived at her encounter with the fallen. His brain was filled with fury, but it was a frenzied rage entirely manifested by his mating instincts and his fear of losing her.

“I’m safe, Daric,” she whispered as he clutched her against his chest so tightly she could barely breathe.