Vampires of Eden (Alexander #2)

12. Alexander

CHAPTER 12

Alexander

T he woods surrounding Kathryn and Roland’s house are dark by the time I’m sitting in my car and getting ready to drive back to the estate. After I finished talking to Daniel and pulled myself together, we went in and got a lot of work done.

It felt good, actually.

The physical labor, our conversation. All of it.

I haven’t checked my phone since I got here, so I pull it out of my pocket and glance at it as the car warms up. There are two messages from Raphael.

[Sebastian’s head servant is requesting a visit on his behalf tomorrow for lunch.]

[Do you feel like being bothered?]

“Fuck no,” I say aloud in the insulated silence. As far as I know, there’s nothing on my schedule tomorrow. I’d prefer to keep it that way, but I’ve already blown Sebastian off a couple times since the poker game where I bluffed Ashwin out of two-hundred grand. I should probably play nice.

[You can tell him yes.]

[Thanks, Raph. I’m on my way back now.]

I toss my phone onto the passenger seat and am about to shift the car into drive, but pause when I see Daniel coming out of the house and down the steps in his ugly orange parka. As he passes my headlights, he waves. Mechanically, I wave back, watching as he goes to the vineyard van.

I can’t believe I cried in front of him today. What the hell is wrong with me? Without question, that talk is going to come back to bite me later. I wonder if I’ll see it as a headline within The Central Eden News over the next couple of days: Purebred Prince Cries like a Baby at Country House .

Despite all that, as I drive slowly down the lane to make my way back to the main road, I’m glad I came here today. Somehow, my head and chest feel less cluttered, as if I was finally able to purge some important but muddled thoughts that I’d been harboring for months.

Raphael was right in insisting that I come here, but I won’t tell him as much.

The next morning, I wake up feeling somewhat invigorated. Not heavy nor depressed. I feed Buffy, clean out her litter boxes, then give her a good brush down. The sun is bright again today, so I go for a long run around the gardens and woods of our property, then do some light lifting in the gym.

By the time Sebastian arrives for lunch, I feel fairly stable and ready to entertain. Although, with Sebastian, one can never be too prepared.

He arrives in a wool cape that’s a rich, deep blue. When he swings it from around his shoulders, he’s fashionably layered in a jumper with a bold floral pattern and perfectly coordinated slacks. The diamond stud in his ear sparkles against his flawless brown skin.

“Hello Aleksey.” He greets me with an air kiss on my left cheek, then my right, like always.

“Hey Sebastian, we’ll have lunch in the sun room today. Follow me?”

“Of course. Thank you for finally having me—and on such short notice.”

Sebastian is a year younger than me and already bonded with his mate, Piper. It was an arranged courtship, but unlike my situation with Oliver, neither of them had a say in the pairing. Their parents made the choice without any input from either Sebastian nor Piper.

Miraculously, it turned out well. They instantly clicked. Sebastian once told me that he’d never met anyone who fully and simply accepted who he was until Piper. And he offers Piper the same unconditional refuge.

Lunch starts smoothly with the normal niceties. I ask about Piper and we take turns getting updates about each other’s parents. His mother, Lady Audrey Ellis, sits on the Royal Governing Board with my father and me. Since she has no plans to retire, Sebastian doesn’t need to attend the meetings. One day, he’ll be on the board with me, along with our friend Nadya once her mother decides to retire.

As we eat, we rehash the poker game a few weeks ago. Apparently, Ashwin is still very upset about it.

Good.

Ashwin’s family clan once held a long-standing position on the board beside my family. But because of some ill timing and bad investments a couple decades ago, they lost their seat.

Capitalizing on the rare opportunity, Lord Cherrington eagerly purchased his way onto the board. He’s held the position ever since.

When we’ve finished the main course and are presented with a tray of tea and cookies for dessert, Sebastian hits me with what I assume is his true intention for coming to visit.

Gossip.

“Soooo, where exactly have you been these past few weeks?” he asks, casually stirring a sugar cube into his Earl Grey. “You’ve been ditching events left and right. We hardly see you out anymore.”

“I’ve taken on some personal projects,” I say. “Just trying some new things. I doubt that I’m missed.”

“Oh, but you are,” he insists with a flirtatious twinkle in his reddish-brown eyes. “Your absence hasn’t gone unnoticed, Aleksey. Especially since, well… there are rumors.”

Here we go. “Rumors?”

“Indeed.” He lifts a free hand and lightly fluffs his thick curls. “About you and Lord Cherrington. He’s going around saying that there’s a match-up in the works—that it’ll officially be announced in the spring. Is this true?”

Sighing, I take hold of my tea cup and bring it toward my lips. “Mm. Maybe.”

“Seriously? Ugh. I was hoping you’d say, ‘Fuck no—ignore that lying, fossilized and horny bastard.’”

I chuckle. Would I say that? “Really?” I ask. “Why?”

“ Why ?” Sebastian balks. “Because Lord Cherrington is gross! We all know that he’s loaded—I mean he infamously bought his seat on the Royal Board and that takes serious cash—but Aleksey, you could do so much better. Everyone is calling him a liar behind his back because no one believes that someone like you should end up with someone like him.”

“Someone like me?” I ask, taken aback. “You mean the loser laughingstock of Eden who idiotically threw away his dowry?”

Sebastian’s face falls flat. “No. I mean the outspoken and brave future King of Eden who gave up the only thing he had control over to help the vampire that he loved.”

The statement hits me directly in the chest and I flush. Speechless.

“Don’t listen to stupid Ashwin,” Sebastian says, picking up his tea. “She’s just jealous of you. She always has been because you have more compassion and charisma in your pinky finger than she does in her whole damn body.” He drinks, his nose crumpled in disgust from talking about our alleged friend.

“That’s nice of you to say,” I tell him. “Well, it sucks for Ashwin, but I can’t say that she isn’t an insufferable purebred.”

“She has her reasons, I guess, but she is insufferable,” Sebastian agrees. “And so is Lord Cherrington. Not him, okay? We’re waiting for your next bold move. The way you openly challenged Old Fart Blakeley was incredible. I get so sick of these ancient vamps dictating our lives and every aspect of Eden. How long are we going to let them do it? What you did for Oliver—it felt like a change in the wind. A seismic shift in Eden’s landscape.”

Doubtful, I fold my arms. “I don’t think it was all that.”

“It was. That’s why an old vamp like Cherrington is trying to muzzle you—and why your mother is probably willing to let him. You might be a little too powerful. They feel threatened… Mummy told me what you proposed in the last meeting. How you outright rejected Cherrington’s proposal. I wish I had been there to see it. Ugh. One day she’ll retire and give up the reigns.”

Am I powerful? If I was, I definitely wouldn’t be complying with this Lord Cherrington mating-arrangement bullshit. But what other choice do I have?

My father’s retirement is imminent. The papers have been signed and officiated based on the assumption that my marriage with Oliver was iron-clad. To take my father’s seat, the rules state that given my age, I either have to be married, or hold a steady net worth. Ideally both.

Since I have neither, the seat could potentially be up for grabs. No one is saying anything, but the possibility is there. It happened to Ashwin’s family. It’ll be the first time in my family’s history that a Kendrick has not sat on the Royal Governing Board. The first time since we helped establish the peace treaty centuries ago .

I don’t want that on my head. God only knows who would fill the seat in my place. Someone with Lord Cherrington’s same ideals, more than likely.

“Is it true what they say about Ollie?” Sebastian asks, whispering even though we’re in the sun room alone. “That he was hooking up with that first-gen designer that was hired for your wedding?”

The emotional wave rises inside me, but it doesn’t swell quite as profoundly or darkly as before. It’s there, but noticeably less intense. It doesn’t overtake me.

“He was,” I say. I think this is the first time I’ve admitted it aloud to someone.

Sebastian shakes his head. “Scandalous. I mean, I don’t want this to sound, you know… bad . But I don’t understand purebreds hooking up with first-gens. Why would you even go for that? Do first-gen vamps taste good? Like, he couldn’t possibly taste better than you, right? Because of blood potency.”

I shrug, not wanting to go any deeper into this controversial thread of conversation. “You know that’s only taboo in Eden, right? Across global aristocracies, purebreds happily bond with first-gen vampires all the time because the vibes and chemistry matter more than the ‘blood potency’ or whatever.”

“I mean, I guess?—”

“Legitimately, that’s how first-gens are fucking made?—”

“I knoooow, okaaaay. Sheesh. Never mind.”

I shake my head, chuckling. “Idiot.”

Thinking about it is unpleasant, but obviously, Aries’s blood offered something that was much more attractive to Oliver than mine. That’s the reality, and it has nothing to do with rank or potency. Their mutual natures just clicked, I guess.

Exhaling, I sit back, taking in the silence and this moment while Sebastian drinks his tea, surly. Aries had something that I didn’t. Plain and simple.

It hurts to admit this to myself and the sadness is there, but… I’m okay. For some reason, I’m alright today.

Later in the week, and after another visit to Roland and Kathryn’s to finish the upstairs bathroom, I get a text from Leoni asking me to help them at their next market day. I enjoyed the morning we spent in Seze, so I agree to help out again.

This time, we’re headed to Hollywick, which is the town nearest to the vineyard. Leoni asked me to come directly to the cottage to help load up the van, so I have to get up at obscene o’clock in the morning to get there extra early.

The ride is calming, though, and I get to see the sunrise as it warms the sky from behind the eastern mountains. It’s not a bad drive at all.

When I pull up to the cottage, the van doors are already open and Daniel is fiddling with something in the back. Looks like the banners and tablecloths. I park off to the side and quickly hop out of the car. “Hey, morning,” I call out as I stalk across the gravel. He wasn’t there the second time I went to Roland and Kathryn’s house this past week.

It’s for the best. I definitely needed a buffer after he witnessed me having an emotional breakdown. Hopefully, he’s forgotten about it. The work didn’t go as quickly without him there, though. I can admit that much.

“Good morning,” he says, turning around. His raven-black hair is all twisted up in a top knot today. I glance down at his shirt underneath his jacket and it reads, “Surely, not everyone was kung-fu fighting.”

I laugh. “Where do you get these shirts?”

He looks down at the graphic, then back up at me, smiling. “Leoni. She buys them because she knows they make me laugh.”

“They’re brilliant,” I say, moving toward the porch and up the steps. The rogue staticky feeling bristles my arms and chest beneath my clothes. I’m used to it now, so I ignore it. “Is she inside? ”

“She is, but she wanted me to take you to the cellar to finish loading. Come with me?”

“Oh. Sure.” I pause, change directions, then follow as he guides me around to the side of the cottage. I’ve never been back here, so immediately, I notice a quaint square garden area several feet away. It looks cool. “Is that where you grow your vegetables?”

“It is. I have spinach, turnips, sugar snap peas and baby kale already planted for an early spring harvest now that the winter weather is breaking.”

“Amazing,” I say, genuinely impressed. “I’d love to garden—to grow something real and tangible with my hands. I’ve only ever helped our gardener with clearing things for winter or planting bulbs for spring.” The doors to the cellar are already gaped open as I follow Daniel down the stone steps. Warm lights fixed in the ceiling illuminate the narrow path and the surrounding walls are a rough-textured stone.

“You’re a wealthy purebred prince,” Daniel says, stopping at a stack of crates near the bottom of the stairs. “I’m sure if you wanted to start a garden, no one would oppose you.”

“You’re wrong. My mother absolutely would—and has. She makes it painfully clear that she doesn’t like me playing in the dirt with the gardener. She also resents the fact that I snuck Buffy into the estate. According to her, these things are my ‘un-princely habits.’ She would never allow me to have a garden. Is this what needs to go up?”

“Yes… I—Well, I can’t help you with this, obviously.”

“Not a problem. I’ll take care of it. I should stack them in the van?”

Daniel nods. “Yes, please.”

I take hold of a crate and turn. Daniel speaks up again.

“I wasn’t trying to be offensive.”

“Right,” I say, lifting the crate. Moving past him and back up the stairs, I smirk. “I’m a wealthy, arrogant purebred prince and you hate me—it’s fine. I get it.”

Eventually, Leoni comes out and helps me with the stack. When everything is loaded, I decide to leave my car at the cottage. The three of us pack into the front seat of the van, then we’re on our way.

Hollywick is a great town because it’s surrounded by a sprawling grove of hornbeam trees—like a hidden village in a J.R.R. Tolkien novel. On sunny days, the narrow roads glitter in a spectrum of light because of the stained-glass windows fashioned onto the local cottages.

The town square, where we’re setting up the market today, is also surrounded by clipped hornbeam trees shaped in fanciful archways. A garden with a huge, moss-covered stone fountain is situated at the edge of the village. The structure stands in the center of a walking path that winds through the outer grove and toward an impressive conservatory.

Leoni has been to this market before and it shows. Before we’re fully set up, several villagers stop by to greet both her and Daniel. They introduce me—even though most residents know who I am—and I receive a warm welcome.

Just like in Seze, the booth gets crowded as soon as the market opens. There’s hardly any down time as the three of us coordinate our efforts to offer wine tastings, fill orders and keep our inventory stocked. I find myself laughing and smiling a lot as I converse with the locals.

I genuinely enjoy talking to the townspeople in Eden’s villages. They’re mostly comprised of second-, third- and lower-ranked vampires. We haven’t had any true humans in Eden for decades. Once the vampire population started taking over during the clan wars, all the humans fled to the mainland of the European continent.

By one o’clock, we’re practically sold out. These village vampires love their wine.

“Why don’t you two take a break before we start packing up?” Leoni offers. “Since Puercoespín stayed behind last time, I’ll stay and finish these last orders. You two go and enjoy.”

“I don’t need a break,” I say, shrugging. “I’m fine. If you want me to start packing everything ahh —” Leoni pinches my side, which makes me jerk and almost crash into Daniel.

“I said go walk!” She shoves me while I’m still recovering and I do fall into Daniel, pushing against him and inadvertently setting off a flash of sparklers across my chest and shoulders as he laughs and grips my arm to steady me.

Why is this tiny vampire woman so unreasonably strong? “Alright, Jesus .”

Daniel grins as his palms fall from my upper arm. I’m annoyed as we leave the booth and stroll toward the outer perimeter of the square, among the stately brick shops and houses.

“What the hell is her problem?” I ask.

“Personally, I find that it’s best to do what she says.”

“I guess.” I roll my shoulders as we pass under one of the naked hornbeam archways. Today’s weather is overcast but the temperature is mild. Winter is definitely thawing across Eden. “Did you want to look at the other booths, or should we walk to the fountain?”

“There’s a fountain?” Daniel asks. “I come into this village for groceries all the time. I’ve never seen a fountain.”

“Really? It’s at the entrance to the walking path that winds through the grove. There’s a conservatory tucked deeper into the woods, too. I’ll show you.” We walk along the narrow alleyways, past beautifully designed stained-glass windows and flower-boxes lined with daffodil stalks getting ready to bloom.

“How do you know about this fountain and walking path?” Daniel asks as he strolls beside me. For the first time, I notice that we’re not the same height. He’s an inch shorter than me, maybe?

“We did a tour here when I was sixteen,” I recall. “Hollywick is far out from Central, so my parents didn’t bother coming back. I’ve always wanted to, though. It was summertime when we visited and it was beautiful and green.”

We turn a corner and the space opens up to a large courtyard in the shape of a circle. The grove lines the perimeter—gnarled trees as far as the eye can see. When I look closely, there are tiny buds dotting the branches. Another sure sign that spring is coming.

“Beautiful…” Daniel walks forward, taking in the scene and the large fountain that sits in the center. The stone sculpture reaches high into the sky, almost as tall as the surrounding trees. There’s no water flowing since it’s still too cold out.

“It’s even better in summer,” I say, trailing behind and smiling at the memory. “The brush is so thick with leaves that you can’t see this far into the grove from here—it looks like the entrance to a maze, or like a scene from The Secret Garden . When the fountain is on, all you hear is water splashing and birds singing. They also string faerie lights in the trees along the perimeter so everything is lit up at night.”

“That all sounds magical.”

“It is,” I say, caught up in my reverie as I sit on the wide base of the fountain. “It’s really romantic. I always imagined that I’d bring Ollie—” I snap my mouth shut like the lid of a clam. What am I thinking? Get ahold of yourself.

Standing not too far away, Daniel turns to look at me. “What were you going to say?”

Heat radiates in my neck and cheeks from embarrassment. “Nothing,” I say, taking a breath. I’m about to change the subject when Daniel starts walking toward the fountain.

“Alexander,” he says softly, sitting at my side. “Just tell me. What were you going to say?” For some reason, my stomach clenches at the sound of my own name. I stare down at my hands in my lap because I can feel his intense lilac gaze focused on the side of my face. Waiting.

“It’s not important,” I say. “I just… I wanted to bring Oliver here in the summer, after we were mated. There are so many picturesque places around Eden that I wanted to show him because his stupid father never let him go anywhere. But I… Obviously, that won’t ever happen.”

Sighing, I look up and toward the wide opening that leads deeper into the grove. The graveled path swirls with dew and mist. It looks like the entrance to a mysterious new world. “I could have made him happy,” I go on, unable to stop myself. “If he’d given me a chance.”

“Why do you think that Oliver’s happiness is your responsibility?”

Daniel asks the question with such razor-sharp precision that I blink as I glance over at him. “Um… because that’s what a relationship is—you make each other happy.”

Daniel shakes his head. “No.”

My eyebrow lifts in confusion. “No?”

“No.” Casually, he glances toward the forest. Unspeaking.

I laugh. “Do you care to elaborate? You can’t make a statement like that and not say anything else.”

He surprises me when he shifts his body toward me, bringing his ankle up and over his bent knee so that his leg is folded. “Hear me out,” he says, as if he’s about to give a complex demonstration. “In my opinion, it’s not your responsibility to make someone else happy. You shouldn’t need to be doing something in order to earn someone else’s love. Oliver should be capable of making himself happy. Or at least content.”

Folding my arms, I try to process this. Admittedly, I’m having a hard time. “So, I shouldn’t want to do things that make my partner smile? I can’t take them someplace special or give them something that I know they’ll enjoy?”

“Of course you can do those things. But you shouldn’t look at it as your role or purpose. If your partner is an unhappy person at their core, there’s nothing you can do to change that—and believing otherwise is foolish. You might be able to slap a bandage on the wound occasionally. Maybe provide a temporary anesthetic or distraction. But the work of truly healing and being content within themselves is theirs alone.”

I remember a particular moment with Oliver… a terrible moment where I took things too far in my pathetic desperation to be closer to him. Basically, I told him I’d do anything for him. That he could have whatever he wanted from me.

It still wasn’t enough. He told me that I didn’t understand and he was right. I couldn’t understand back then.

But maybe… I do now. Just a little.

I look up and Daniel watches me with an inquisitive expression. Waiting. I take a breath. “So… according to you, love isn’t about having ‘potential’ to change. Nor is it about making your partner happy. Then, what is it about, Daniel? What’s love to you?”

He sits up straighter as if the question surprises him. For the first time since we started this conversation, he breaks eye contact. “That’s a loaded question.”

“You keep telling me what love isn’t!” I say, chuckling. “Tell me what it is .”

Still looking away, he bites his bottom lip and frowns. I glance down and he’s subtly twisting his hands in the gap of his thighs.

“I think… love is mutual companionship and respect. You value someone for who they are—you delight in them and pay attention. Not because they fill a role or serve a purpose. But because you just… enjoy and support each other. No conditions or strings attached.”

As I listen, I try to imagine a situation like that in my mind. It sounds beautiful, but I can’t visualize it. There are no examples of anything like that in my life.

Actually… “Wait—so, for you, love is like what I have with Buffy.”

Daniel’s frown deepens. “Come again?”

“My cat,” I remind him. “Buffy. I value her for who she is and I delight in her. I respect her… She doesn’t fill a specific role or purpose, but I enjoy taking care of her and giving her special treats that I know she’ll like. It’s exactly what you’re saying—no conditions or strings attached for my love.”

Daniel’s nose is scrunched, not totally convinced. I chuckle because he looks kind of cute in this state of utter bewilderment .

“I mean, I guess?” he says, reaching up and rubbing his forehead. “I think vampire relationships are a bit more layered than this, and I don’t know how healthy it is to view your partner in the same vein as your pet but… Sure? I guess you have to start somewhere?”

Amused, I stand and stretch my arms up. “You’re pretty damn sharp about these things, Danny. A deep thinker.”

His pale eyes flicker up at me in surprise. He grins. “It keeps me sane.”

I want to ask him what that means, but it feels like we’ve been gone for a long time. I check my watch. “Should we head back? I don’t want Leoni to be pissed off.” Nor do I want her to fucking pinch me again.

“She’ll text if she needs us,” Daniel says, standing. “I wanted to see the path through the grove. Will you show me the conservatory?”

“Sure. It looks like there might be scary things lurking in there. Like a dangerous path in a sci-fi movie scene. A place to get murdered.”

Daniel snickers, stepping ahead and toward the misty trail. “I’m sure we can handle whatever potential danger awaits us. I predict no murders for today.”

I keep grinning like an idiot and that sparkly, warm and electric feeling courses all through me. It’s like my nature is excited about something. I’m due to feed, so maybe I’m malnourished? I’ll have half an Oliver bag once I get home.

“Alright,” I say in response, following his lead. “We’ve got this.”