Page 13 of The Vampire and the Tattooist (The Vampire and Series Book 4)

“What’s going on?” Hunter asked. “You obviously know.”

No one said anything for a moment.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Annie said. “What everyone is trying to figure out is how to tell you that pretty much everyone here is a vampire, or in Troy’s case, a jaguar. Kevin here is a wolf and Dave, Willard, and I are the only humans currently here. The party was for Gavin, who yesterday killed a very bad witch to save a friend. We threw him a party to try and cheer him up.”

“You’re a vampire?” Hunter asked Gavin in surprise.

Gavin nodded and signed.

Dave translated. ”I wanted to tell you so badly, but I was scared you would think I was an evil monster and want nothing to do with me.”

“I promise, you two are perfectly safe here,” David assured them.

“That club in Cuba takes on a whole new meaning now,” Taha said to Hunter.

Hunter nodded. “Yeah, it really does.”

“What club?” Seth asked.

“When we went travelling, we stopped off in Cuba. We went to a club one evening. We thought we’d entered an EMO club, but I swore I saw someone with pointed teeth bite into someone’s neck.”

“So did I but put it down to a trick of the lights,” Hunter put in. “But bringing things back to now. That letter was obviously meant for me because of what happened yesterday. But how did they get into my house?”

“Let me ring Gabe and get him here. Maybe he can help,” Mathis said, picking up his phone and making the call.

A moment later, a portal opened, and Gabriel walked out.

Hunter and Taha both jumped up.

“What the hell is that?” Taha asked.

“A witch’s portal. It’s a quick way to travel,” Gabe said, smiling at him and closing the portal.

“Witches, vampires, cats. Just what freaky rabbit hole have we just fallen down?” Hunter demanded.

Gavin hung his head. His mate didn’t think he was evil, just a freak. He didn’t know which was worse.

“Are you calling us, calling Gavin a freak?” Raz demanded, standing up, his eyes swirling red in anger.

Hunter glared at him. He was scared and wanted to run away and never look back, but then he would have to give up Gavin, and he couldn’t do that to the man he loved. “No, I said we had fallen down a freaky rabbit hole. I did not say any of you were freaks. Am I concerned about this strange new world? Yes, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. Am I scared? Sure, who wouldn’t be when they discover vampires are real and other paranormals that I’ve only read about in books are real. I’m human. I’m allowed to be concerned, especially as I might have a paranormal killer after me.”

“Raz, calm down and sit,” David ordered.

Stefan looked at Hunter and Taha. “I know this is a lot to take in and you need to process and probably have a freak out, but I promise as King of the Vampires, you are safe here. We only want to find out who is after you and protect you.”

Hunter looked at him for a moment before nodding and sitting down. Taha sat, as well.

“So what did I miss?” Gabe asked, sitting down next to Mathis.

“This,” Mathis said, passing him the piece of paper.

Gabe read it and sighed, looking at Hunter. “This was left in your house?”

Hunter nodded. “Yes, but I can’t see how they got in. Now would someone tell me what this is all about?”

“It’s connected to me, I’m afraid. I have recently, like very recently, like yesterday, become head of my family coven and head of the Southern witches. My brother Roberto was leader before, but he was straight jacket insane. He let a witch into our coven called Kay Cameron-Webb. We found out that Kay along with some coven members were involved in some very unsavoury things. The leader of this group was a witch called Leonard Banning.

Yesterday, there was a battle in which Kay was killed, but Leonard kidnapped Gavin and a wolf shifter friend, Ian.

“Leonard planned on killing them both and blaming it on me. He used magic on Ian, but before Leonard could kill him, Gavin killed Leonard instead. Gavin killed his first person to save his friend.”

“Gavin isn’t like the rest of us. He’s gentle without a mean bone in his body, and killing someone, no matter how evil, upset him, hence the party,” Seth said.

Hunter caught up Gavin’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

“We thought we had captured all those involved, but it seems we missed one,” Gabriel said. “This letter was delivered to your house by a witch using the same kind of portal I used. When I returned home earlier, I went to Leonard’s room, and someone had tried to break in. The magical signature attached to this note is the same one that was used on the door.”

“Do you know who?” Mathis asked him.

Gabe shook his head. “No, but you can be damn sure I’m going to find out. I need to have another chat with the lemmings.”

“I’ll come back with you and talk to them,” David said.

“Why is there a sign in the ballroom for a kill party?” Max asked from the doorway.

Dave looked at him and grinned. “Do you really want to know?”

Max shook his head. “Probably not. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the library.” Max turned and walked away, saying, “Of all the people in the world, Davy had to fall in love with a vampire. He couldn’t have fallen for an accountant could he...”

His voice faded as he walked further away.

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Dave said, grinning at David.

“But just think how boring your life would have been,” Seth said with a smile. “And just think it’s all thanks to me saving you.”

“Kidnapping,” Dave pointed out.

“You were kidnapped?” Hunter exclaimed.

“There was a whole mistaken identity with a Russian mob brat and me,” Dave said. “It’s all sorted.”

“Hunter, Taha, what foods do you like?” Annie asked them.

Before either could answer, Kevin’s phone rang.

“That’s Ian’s ringtone,” he said, grabbing his phone. “What’s up Ian?”

“You remember that Russian hacker from the other day, Olay Ivanov?”

“What of him?”

“Looks like he was involved with all of this stuff at the coven,” Ian said.

“Of course he was. Thanks. Keep looking.” Kevin hung up and put his phone down. He looked at David. “You heard?”

David nodded. “Yes. Mathis, has anything been done with his computer yet?”

Mathis shook his head. “Not yet, but I can go and get started and see what I can find.”

“Thank you.”

“What did Ian say? Clue the pesky humans who don’t have super hearing in, would you?” Dave said, looking at David and Kevin.

“It would seem Olay Ivanov was involved with Kay and Leonard,” David told him.

“Well crap. Shall I call the Russians and see what they know?” Dave asked.

“Russians?” Taha asked.

“Russian mob,” Dave supplied helpfully.

Hunter snorted out a laugh. “Of course you know the Russian mob, why wouldn’t you?” He looked at Gavin. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

Gavin nodded and stood up, Hunter standing with him.

“Excuse us for a bit,” Hunter said.

“Hunter, I would prefer if you didn’t leave the house or grounds. If you need to, I’ll send a bodyguard with you until we’ve caught the witch that is after you,” David said.

Hunter nodded. “I understand.”

“Hunt, I’m going to head to the shop. Ring if you need me,” Taha said.

Hunter pulled out his keys and tossed them at Taha. “Take my car.”

“Thanks,” he said, catching them.

Hunter nodded and walked out of the kitchen with Gavin. “Lead on,” he said to Gavin.

Gavin nodded and led him up the stairs and to his bedroom.

As they walked, Hunter looked around. The decorations of the house were lovely. He had expected a house of this size to be over-decorated, but everything was understated. The pictures that graced the walls looked amazing. He didn’t recognise any of the painting styles, but that didn’t detract from their beauty. As an artist himself, Hunter loved all forms of art, not just the famous painters.

Gavin opened his bedroom door and stood out the way to let Hunter walk in first.

Hunter walked in and smiled; this room was so Gavin. The room itself was large. In the middle of the room was a large double bed flanked by two bedside tables. There was a sofa, coffee table, and a couple of chairs towards the back of the room by large windows. The other corner of the bedroom was set up with two desks, covered with computers and three screens. There were papers and notebooks scattered around the desk, indeed, over the whole room.

Gavin walked in behind him and closed the door. It felt strange having Hunter here, in his room. He still wasn’t sure what Hunter thought about him being a vampire, and that had him worried.

Hunter turned round and grinned at him. “If I had to design a bedroom for you, this is what I would have designed. It looks perfect.”

Gavin nodded and grinned, then signed, “Thank you, I love it.”

Hunter walked over to him and stood looking down at him. He was about a head taller than Gavin and had more muscles, a fact that Hunter loved. He could think of nothing worse than having a partner who was the same height and build as him.

He saw a look of apprehension in Gavin’s eyes. Hunter raised his hand and touched his cheek. “We have so much to talk about, sweetheart,” he said gently.

Gavin raised his eyes and looked at Hunter and saw the tender look in his eyes. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn’t want to move.

Hunter smiled. “I know, sweetheart,” he said before bending his head and kissing him. He moved his hand from Gavin’s cheek and placed it behind his neck, his other arm wrapped around Gavin’s waist, pulling him closer.

Gavin was in heaven. He had only kissed Hunter once, and that was a quick barely-there kiss. He wrapped his arms around him and sighed into the kiss. He loved the fact that Hunter was taller than him and had more muscles. Sure, Gavin was much stronger, but that didn’t matter to him. He felt surrounded, safe.

Hunter was in heaven. The one time he had kissed Gavin had been far too brief, a barely-there kiss at the end of their last date. This was so much better. He felt Gavin sigh against his lips and used that to map out Gavin’s mouth with his tongue.

When they both needed air, Hunter pulled back, but not far. “Just perfect,” he said, not releasing Gavin. “Jump up.”

Gavin did and wrapped his legs around Hunter”s waist, who walked them over to the sofa and sat down with Gavin sitting astride him. He moved his hands, so they rested on Gavin’s waist.

Gavin smiled at him before signing, “You are not scared of me?”

Hunter shook his head. “No, I’m not scared of you. I don’t think you’re a freak, evil, a monster, or anything else that probably went through and is going through your head right now. If I did, there would be no way I would have kissed you like I needed to more than anything else in the world. Do I wish you hadn’t had to kill someone, even to save a friend? Yes, but then I would wish that for anyone I knew that had to kill.” He paused. “I understand why you didn’t tell me. I probably wouldn’t have said anything until I knew you better if that was me. But sweetheart, no more secrets. If we’re going to work, we need to be open and honest with each other.”

Gavin nodded and smiled at him. He loved looking at Hunter. His eyes were a lovely green, his dark brown hair hung in waves to his shoulders. To Gavin, Hunter was perfect, and if he had made Hunter the hero in his next game, well, that was up to him. Gavin signed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t know how. Thank you for learning sign language for me.”

Hunter smiled. “Well, I wanted to understand you without you having to write everything down. It’s something I should have thought about before even meeting you. Have you noticed that you say a lot with only a few hand movements?”

Gavin gave a silent laugh. He wasn’t the one that was a chatty Cathy. But Hunter seemed to know what he was thinking and answered questions accordingly.

“Now enough chat,” Hunter said, pulling Gavin closer. “I need to kiss you again.”

Gavin was all for that.