Page 50 of The Vampire and the Tattooist (The Vampire and Series Book 4)

Stefan led the way down the tunnel with Gavin going last, closing the fireplace behind him. As soon as Stefan reached the priest hole, he found the light switch and turned it on.

“Oh, it’s so pretty. I wasn’t expecting this,” Charlotte exclaimed quietly.

“This is one of the nicer hiding spaces. There are probably others around here that are dull,” Dave replied.

Gavin walked in. They could all fit, but there wasn’t much space left. He looked at Stefan and signed.

“No, Gavin, we’ll all stay together. We can better protect everyone if we are all in one location.”

“What did Gavin say?” AJ asked.

“Gavin said there is another priest hole further down this passageway. He suggested we split up to give us more space,” Stefan told him.

“Are there any weapons down here?” Dave asked.

Gavin grinned and pointed to Stefan, Louise, himself, and Taha.

“Nutter,” Dave said, smiling at him. “Find a patch of floor and have a seat folks. We could be here for a while.”

Once everyone was settled, Gavin closed the door.

* * *

David and Gaberan outside and found a full-on battle going on.

Gabe saw spells being thrown around, and, pulling out his wand, he ran towards the fighting, throwing his magic to knock out anyone fighting against his family and friends.

He saw Creed get hit in the back with a spell and fall to the floor. Letting out a loud howl, wolf Kevin jumped the witch and ripped his throat out.

Gabe had to stop this before one of his friends died. He pulled on all his magic, and using his wand, flung it out as he turned in a circle, setting his intention to stop the attackers. He spun round twice, and as he reached the starting point, he noticed the attackers were starting to drop to the ground unconscious. A couple were left standing, but the vampires either cut their heads off or stabbed them through the hearts, killing them.

Making sure they were all down and out, Gabe rushed to Creed”s side. He touched his neck and found a pulse. Calling on his healing, he pushed his healing magic into Creed, and the healing light appeared.

Unnoticed, Kevin ran to his mate’s side, shifting as he did, watching Gabe.

The light faded and Gabe took his hands off Creed and sat back.

“Sweetheart?” Kevin said, touching Creed’s back.

“I’m okay,” Creed said, moving to sit up.

“Thank you,” Kevin said to Gabe before pulling Creed into his arms.

Gabe stood up and left them together, looking around to see who else was injured and needed help. He was tired after using so much magic, but he could keep going if needed.

He ran over to a couple of vampires who were sat leaning against trees. “Do you need my help?” he asked, squatting down between them.

One of them shook their heads. “No, thank you. Blood will sort me out.”

“The same for me,” the other replied, “but thank you.”

Gabe nodded and got to his feet, walking over to Seth and Gio.

“Thanks for your help,” Seth said, pulling him into a hug. “I can see how Owen had issues stopping his super witch.”

“Only death could stop some of them,” Gio added.

“I’m surprised at how many super witches there are,” Gabe replied, looking around. He saw Bert and David walk their way. “Are you both all right?”

“We are,” Bert answered. “None of them spoke, just started fighting.”

“Did any breach the house?” Gabe asked.

Just then, an explosion was heard from inside the house. Quick as a flash, David, Seth, and Gio took off at a fast run. All Gabe and Bert saw was one minute the three of them were there, and the next, they vanished.

Bert and Gabe looked at each other before running as fast as they could after them.

* * *

“How doyou think things are going?” Taha asked.

“Fighting is still going on but seems to be winding down,” Stefan replied.

“You can hear them?” Spencer asked in surprise and sat between Louise and Stefan.

“We can,” Louise answered. “As you get older, your senses will sharpen, and your hearing will heighten. It won’t be as good as ours but will be better than it is now.”

“Spencer, can I ask what kind of shifter you are?” Hunter asked. He was sat with his back to the wall, Gavin sitting in front of him between his legs, leaning back against him.

Spencer smiled. “I’m a Pine Marten.”

“That’s from the weasel family, isn’t it?” AJ asked.

Spencer nodded. “Yeah. There aren’t many of us around anymore, shifters or normal ones.”

“It’s strange. I never imagined there were other shifters out there. For some reason, I thought you would all be wolves,” Taha said.

“No,” Stefan replied. “There are shifters for pretty much every species.”

“So much to learn,” Hunter commented.

“And you will. No one expects you to learn everything in a few days,” Louise replied gently.

“Do you think Seth and Gio are alright?” Jack asked quietly from between Louise and Annie.

“Of course they are,” Annie said, putting her arm around him. “They might have a few war wounds but nothing serious. They can just drink blood and heal themselves right up.”

Jack nodded but didn’t say anything else. Willard passed him a sleeping Diablo, and Jack snuggled with him.

Charlotte looked at Hunter and Gavin and sighed. “I was so hoping you’d have a wedding, but you’re already mated.”

“We can still have a wedding, Mum,” Hunter told her.

Gavin moved around to look at Hunter and signed, “You want a wedding?”

“Yes, sweetheart, I want a wedding. I know we’re mated and that is deeper than a wedding, but I’m human. I would like us to get married.”

Gavin smiled before flinging his arms around Hunter and kissing him. He pulled back and signed.

Hunter laughed. “We can do that.”

“Do what?” AJ asked.

“Get matching tattoos,” Hunter replied. “Still gonna buy rings, though.”

“Oh my God, did you guys just get engaged?” Dave asked happily while stroking Bruno’s head.

Hunter looked at Gavin, smiling. “Did we?”

Gavin shook his head and signed.

“I didn’t get all that, but pretty sure that was a no, and I need to ask properly with rings.”

Gavin signed again.

“And down on one knee.”

Gavin nodded and grinned.

“When you do, we can all help you plan the wedding and party. This will be epic,” Dave said happily.

“I’m so happy,” Charlotte said, smiling at Hunter.

“Well, hold your excitement, Mum. We’re not engaged yet,” Hunter reminded her.

“But you will be,” she said. “Now we need to get Taha and his Owen married.”

Taha laughed. “We’re happy to wait. My parents don’t know about Owen yet, and they’re not due home for goodness knows how long.”

“Where are your parents?” Lissa asked him.

“Off in Spain, walking the Camino de Santiago,” Taha told her.

“Isn’t that, like, five hundred miles?” Willard asked.

Taha nodded. “That’s the one. It should take about a month, but they’re stopping off sightseeing in different places along the way. They started four weeks ago and aren’t even halfway yet, but they’re having a blast.” He paused and sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Louise asks him.

“I’m not sure of my parents’ reactions when they find out about all of you.”

AJ nods. “Yeah, we might need to ensure they don’t find out.”

“Why’s that?” Jack asks. “Because they’re human and might freak out?”

“No, well, maybe? They are uber-religious, so I’m not sure how they would deal with this world. They just about tolerate me being gay, but only because I’ve never introduced them to a boyfriend. No matter how much I want them to meet Owen, I’m not sure of their reaction.”

“Sweetheart, they just want you to be happy,” Charlotte said to him. “We can be there when they meet your Owen, and they can meet Gavin at the same time. If they find out and see we’re okay with everything, that might help.”

Taha nodded. “Thanks, Charlotte.”

Just then they heard what sounded like an explosion.

“What the hell!” Dave exclaimed, jumping to his feet, dislodging Bruno, and starting for the door.

Stefan stood up. “Dave, hold. We’re safe in here.”

Dave wrung his hands. “But that came from inside the house.”

Stefan touched his shoulder. “It did, but my sons, their men, and friends know what they are doing.”

Dave nodded. “I know, but that doesn’t stop me worrying. What if we don’t have enough bagged blood? Should I message the wolves and let them know what’s going on? If Gabe, Sean, or Kayden get injured, do we have enough bandages to help or those sticky plaster stitches? We only have one healing room set up…” By the time Dave had finished talking, he was wringing his hands and on the verge of panicking.

Stefan grabbed his face and looked into Dave’s eyes. “Calm yourself,” he said gently. “Breathe with me. In... out.”

Dave stared into Stefan’s eyes and copied his breathing. He felt himself calming down. “Thank you, sorry.”

Stefan smiled at him and let Dave’s head go, touching his shoulder. “There is nothing to apologise for.”

Dave nodded and flopped back onto the ground. Gavin moved next to Dave, and put his arm around him , and Jack handed the puppy over while Bruno walked over and laid his head back onto Dave’s lap. “Thanks. I’m okay. Sorry, folks.”

“Davy, you’re so dramatic,” Annie said, shaking her head at him but smiling.

“And you’re just figuring this out now?” Hunter said with a laugh.

“Hey now,” Dave protested.

Gavin patted his arm as the others laughed.