Page 34 of By The Moon

“It was one of those things you try to forget.”

“You bastard! We had a good thing going and you walked away. Look at me. Men fall over themselves to be with me.”

Louis did take a good look. Skylar was attractive with his short black hair and light blue eyes. Shame it was only skin deep. The rot was all the way through to the core. “I thought you were nice too, once. Now I see you for who you truly are. I think I’ll need a good scrub when I get home.”

“I will never let you keep Jerome. I will find him and take him and you’ll spend the rest of your miserable life searching for him. I will fuck him as many times as I want and let Maxim’s men takea turn as well. He’ll be our toy to use and abuse. See how much a human body can take. How much his ass can take as we fuck him till he bleeds.”

“So nice.” Gray stepped forward, grabbed Skylar’s head and snapped his neck.

“You gave him full immunity.”

“Shame he didn’t know only the council can do that.”

“Still he was a perpetrator to a crime and may have had more information.”

“Key’s already in their system.” Gray shrugged. “His whiny voice was grating on my nerves.” Turning to face Louis, Gray said, “We both know he wanted Jerome. He would have never let you two live a peaceful life. If he left here, he would have plotted and schemed to grab Jerome again. You would constantly be watching over your shoulder. And forget about Jerome finishing his degree. That would have to stop because we wouldn’t be able to guarantee his safety, especially during the day. He’s better off dead or I could have left him alive and made sure Maxim found him. How do you think Maxim would treat him after he’d fucked up the way he has done?” Gray kicked Skylar’s foot. “Maybe I should have left him alive. He’s a traitor and that’s treason. What is the penalty for treason?”

“Death,” Louis murmured. Yes, he’d wanted Skylar to suffer, wanted him to know pain. He hadn’t expected Gray to end his life the way he had. Louis had wanted longer with him, to ask more questions, to try and figure out why Skylar had turned against them, but now he would never know.

“He was dead the second he placed his hands on Jerome. He just didn’t know it. He was one of Maxim’s men and he was jealous of your mating to Jerome. A human who Maxim and his people hate. Go home. I’ll deal with this. Key is working his magic so we’ll have answers soon enough. Maybe enough that wecan find Maxim and end this once and for all. It would be nice to go to bed knowing he was behind bars, or better yet, dead.”

Louis had to agree with Gray where Maxim was concerned. He was a constant thorn in their sides because they didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. All they knew was that he was out there and more than likely plotting something.

“Let me know if you need me for anything.”

“A statement, but I’ll get that later. Go home to your mate.”

Louis left and walked into his bedroom, watching Jerome sleep. He’d almost lost his mate before they’d had the chance to build a future together. Skylar. The betrayal dug deep; hurt in a way he hadn’t anticipated. He’d never noticed how Skylar felt about him. They’d had their fling, a few months together, then decided to be friends, but that was years ago. Before Jerome was even born. Had Skylar hoped they’d get back together all that time? Once Jerome was on the scene, he would have known he would never be with Louis again.

Sighing softly, Louis had a quick shower then crawled into bed with Jerome and held him in his arms. “Okay?” Jerome murmured softly.

“He told us what we needed to know. He’s never going to bother you again.”

“Or you.” Jerome blinked up at him, his eyes barely open.

“No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I only wanted to hold you.”

“You can hold me whenever you want.” Jerome cuddled closer, closing his eyes. “I’m glad you’re home.”

“Me too.”

Louis held Jerome, listening to his breathing as it evened out. Asleep, Louis could look at Jerome, see the marks on his face, the bruises developing and he was glad Skylar was dead. His mate would’ve been in constant danger if Skylar was still alive. But it also saddened Louis. They had been friends, hadbeen lovers once and he now had to question how much of that had been a lie. Skylar had wanted him back, but at what cost? Jerome’s life? Selling him and other vampires out to Maxim? How many secrets had he passed on? How many vampires had gone missing or died because of Skylar? It made Louis sick thinking about it.

At least Gray and Key were digging into Skylar. They’d leave no stone unturned. They would find everything they could and put it all together and present it to the council. Security would have to change as well. There was no doubt in Louis’ mind that Skylar had told Maxim everything he could about how they operated. Gray would be pissed about that but Louis knew he would already be in the process of changing everything he could.

Jerome snuggled closer. “Go to sleep,” he mumbled.

Kissing his forehead, Louis settled and closed his eyes. He could deal with the aftermath when he woke.

Chapter Fifteen

Jerome woke alone but he wasn’t surprised. He had known Louis would have to go and speak to Gray and there was also the issue with the council. Louis should have told them about Jerome before mating him.

Louis.

In with the council now.

How are they? Are they angry?

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