What the fuck was wrong with all of these assholes? Why did everyone want to mate him? Gerome, tired to the bone, ran a hand through his hair. He’d slept a few hours, but then the ransom demand had come in: mate a man the kidnappers picked.
Somewhere, the world had taken a turn without him noticing. Without giving him a heads-up. Ever since Sam called that Alex was missing, he scrambled to catch up, to find out what was happening, only to realize time after time that someone was always ahead of him. First, the kidnapper was able to catch Alex, then, his father with the mating. As if that wasn’t enough, the kidnapper demanded he mate a guy they sent. Between all this shit, Gerome badly needed some quiet time.
He wanted to sit down with Sam and Alex, shoot the shit, and have a good time. Or be with his other friends, who, for the most part, had no idea about his true identity. For the same reasons behind Alex’s kidnapping, he couldn’t bring them into this whole mess. It could be dangerous to be friends with the crown prince. He never allowed anyone to get close enough to discover his secret, which also meant he didn’t have any good friends.
Gerome ran a hand through his hair and over his face. He was dead tired, but sleep eluded him. After Alex, who had been forced to call, had hung up, he’d woken Sam to give him the news and then informed the trackers and his father’s men. Now, all they could do was wait—again—to see if something else came up. Like a location, or the second man he was to mate, who might give them the opportunity to find out who was behind the kidnapping.
But no matter which direction he turned on the couch, he couldn’t fall asleep. Going back to his room was out of the question because his mate stayed in there.
Right now, Gerome didn’t need more drama in his life, and Luis definitely added drama. He shifted around again, unable to find some rest. The worry about his baby and Alex refused to allow him to sleep. Had he failed Alex? Should he have known this was going to happen? He should’ve brought Alex and Sam to the palace so they’d be safe.
He wanted to keep quiet about having fathered a child, so he’d hidden Alex in his own apartment, which had been a stupid decision. If only he’d told his father about Alex in the first place, then they would’ve been able to protect him. Maybe his father would’ve used Alex to force him into a mating, but that wouldn’t have mattered. Nothing mattered besides Alex and the baby’s safety.
Gerome shifted again, staring out the window into the breaking dawn. He’d failed Alex, Sam, and his son or daughter—the most important person in the world right now—so many times. No matter his money or his status, he’d failed them all.
Tears welled up, but Gerome ruthlessly wiped them away. Crying would help nothing. It didn’t solve a thing and only made him seem weak when he couldn’t afford it. A prince wasn’t weak. Never. His father had made sure he understood this lesson early in life. He wouldn’t forget it.
He also wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating his enemies again. Someone very close had betrayed him and his trust. There would be hell to pay if he found the responsible person. Mercy wasn’t a word associated with vampires, and kidnapping and blackmail brought out one thing in them—the need for revenge. And he’d get his retribution.
Gerome sat up and threw the blanket to the side. No point in lying around anymore. Sleep wasn’t going to happen right now. He’d had enough to make it through the next few hours.
He wandered over to the kitchen and started the coffee machine. Silence surrounded him. Hopefully, Sam still slept. The poor guy needed all the rest he could get. He’d had enough excitement the day before. And today wasn’t going to get better. At least, it would hopefully only be hours before they found something. Gerome checked his phone again, but no one had texted him in the ten minutes since he’d last looked.
With any luck, they’d find out more when this ominous “mate” turned up. Crap, that reminded him of Luis. He’d been rather harsh to the man last night, but he’d been so tired and exhausted. Hurting him hadn’t been his plan, but he also couldn’t deal with him now. At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to drink his coffee and wait to see what the trackers found.
****
His father laughed. Fucking laughed at the demands.
Gerome finished telling the king about the ransom call and, after a second of silence, the king started laughing. Unbelievable! What the fuck was wrong with him? Gerome didn’t see anything funny about the situation. How could he laugh at someone trying to blackmail his son into a mating?
“I apologize. It’s just priceless.” His father still chuckled but finally got a grip on his laughter.
“So we go on with the demands? I will ‘mate’ this man?” Gerome drew air quotes with his fingers. He’d shown his mark to his father a few moments earlier, earning an approving “Well done, son.”
“I’d say it would be best. I’ll inform my men that you’ve mated afterward. We’ll leave the kidnapper to believe that you mated the man he sent. You’ll just have to find a way to make sure the fake mate stays where he can’t contact anyone. We should have a pretty good idea who the kidnapper is once this ‘mate’ arrives.”
“I think this is the best way to handle it, yes.” Gerome stopped himself from saying anything else. He still didn’t get how easily his father had switched from blackmailing him into the mating with Luis to laughing about the ransom now. He couldn’t even be angry with his old man right now. If he hadn’t mated Luis last night, he’d be mated to a kidnapper later. At least, Luis seemed easy to handle.
“Okay, then it’s set. We’ll wait in my apartment for the mate to show up. I’ll stage a mating with him and then we’ll see what we learn. I think an interview with the ‘mate’ will be more than useful.” A part of him looked forward to meeting this man very much—and not because he wanted to shake the man’s hand.