Watching Out For Fangs (The Cloverleah Pack Book 7) by Lisa Oliver Read Free Book Online Page B

“When you realize these things for yourself, get word to me and I will see you are released so you can go to Cloverleah. That is where you belong. In the meantime Ermine is determined to make an idiot of himself and given I am pretty much the oldest vampire in existence, I will do my best to keep this coven in Atlanta where it belongs. But I have heard that the pack in this area cannot be so easily contained and they could have ties with another pack, equally dangerous. Your young man might need you sooner than you think. You had better sort yourself out quickly, or he will die before you. Somehow, despite your apparently hardened heart, I don’t think you want that.”
    Vadim stared at his mother’s retreating form. She had left the lamp for him, and Vadim supposed he should be grateful. He had never been a fan of the dark, and with no windows in his cell, the room was darker than most. Closing his eyes, Vadim thought about his mother’s words, and not for the first time since leaving Josh at Cloverleah, wondered if he had honestly done the right thing.
    In his haste he had only thought to save his mate from the coven and his own lack of heart. He wanted Josh to live out his life in the company of men who would understand him and would help him once their bond was broken. How could he have forgotten that the original threat to the men at Cloverleah actually stemmed from a wolf pack – well, two wolf packs if his mother was to be believed? Although he was fairly sure that only one was a real threat now as he had taken care of the other one. Were his enemies any worse? It wasn’t as though they were stronger than he was. He could protect his mate if he stayed by Josh’s side.
    But what about Edward?
    The voice in his head was enough to stop him from calling his mother back. He knew she would hear him even though she had exited the cell. But thoughts of Edward brought with them the hurt, the anger and the shame he felt at not saving the young man when he should have. A firm believer in learning from his mistakes, Vadim tried to reason that the situation wasn’t the same – Josh was a wolf shifter for a start, not a human. But because of Edward Vadim had made a vow he had kept ever since. A vow that would crush Josh’s spirit if he knew about it. And it was the image of Josh’s crushed spirit that kept Vadim’s mouth shut and his brain working. He was chained up because he had acted without thinking. Before he did anything else in his life, he needed to consider every aspect of his situation carefully. But Vadim was aware that he had to get his brain in order quickly. Otherwise both he and Josh would be out of time.
     

Chapter Six
    Vadim could swear he was hearing voices, but it was a little hard to tell given his hunger, and the chaotic mess in his brain. It had been four days since he had spoken to his mother, and all Vadim had done was turn his brain inside out and doze in fits and starts. His body had long numbed itself to the pain in his joints from being strung up for so long and his throat was so dry he wasn’t sure he could speak if his life depended on it. That was the problem with thinking things over – sometimes you got too involved in the thought process, without actually coming to a decision and Vadim was doing a damn fine job of driving himself insane.
    But there it was again – another voice. Vadim wasn’t hearing things. There were at least two men in the cell with him, but when Vadim opened his eyes he couldn’t see or scent anyone. Vampires didn’t have the same strong sense of smell that shifters had, but Vadim had a pretty good nose. Yet nothing untoward hit his nostrils, well apart from the general mustiness the cell always had. He was thankful that he hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for so long – otherwise the things he could be smelling would be a lot worse than body odor. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so quick to discount the insanity idea.
    Letting his eyelids fall closed, Vadim