Changes (Belle Morte Book 4)

Chapter Two

Jason

A lot of vampires had died thanks to Jemima and Etienne, including the Council, except for Ysanne and Caoimhe. The two remaining Ladies were a force to be reckoned with, but even they couldn't run all five Houses of the UK and Ireland without help.

The surviving vampires of Lamia, Midnight, and Nocte Filii were leaderless, and no one had stepped up to the task of being a Lord or Lady. They'd all lost friends in Etienne and Jemima's power grab, and the shock and grief was too strong for any of them to feel they could lead their Houses in this time of need.

So Ysanne and Caoimhe had reached out to vampire Houses overseas, asking for help, and at first, the other Houses had been only too willing.

Then came the DeSanti scandal, blackening the reputation of vampirekind even more, and suddenly help wasn't quite so forthcoming. A handful of Houses in Europe and Asia immediately withdrew offers of support, while others simply ignored any attempt at contact. Maybe they thought they were protecting themselves, but the backlash that vampires in the UK were currently facing could easily affect them too. They should have been coming together instead of refusing to help.

But however angry Ysanne was with them, she wasn't about to beg for help, not when there were other Houses still willing to give it.

Today, the vampires who had been sent to help from France, Germany, Italy, and America were finally arriving at Belle Morte, where they would stay until tomorrow, for the meeting with the Prime Minister, before travelling to the three Houses that they would be helping to run until everything was cleared up and permanent Lords and Ladies could be appointed.

"Do we know who's coming?" Jason yelled through the bathroom door, showering as fast as he could.

"Nope," Renie shouted back. "But Edmond told me that Katerina Ivanova isn't going to help anymore. Apparently the Russian Houses are seeing a huge amount of backlash, even though they didn't have anything to do with this, and she doesn't think it's safe for any of her vampires to travel."

Jason digested that.

Katerina Ivanova was Lady of Bertmertnyy, one of Russia's most famous Houses, and she had promised to send some of her people to help.

Older vampires could withstand the sun for the time it took to fly from Russia to England, as long as they covered up – but that wasn't the danger Katerina worried about. Vampires weren't indestructible, and with hatred of their kind on the rise, setting foot outside their Houses came with a real risk these days. The Russian vampires would have been a real help, but Jason couldn't blame Katerina for putting the safety of her House first.

Turning off the shower, Jason stepped out of the porcelain tray and dried himself off.

In the bedroom, he could hear hangers clinking, which he took to mean Renie and Roux were choosing his clothes.

Sure enough, the door opened and the girls shoved an outfit at him. "Be quick. We don't want to miss anything," said Roux.

Jason smiled at her excitement. Even though Roux was a vampire herself now, the new famous faces were still bringing out her inner Vladdict.

There was no time to style his hair; he dressed quickly and then hurried out of the bathroom, leaving his towel on the floor.

He was excited, he realised, but not just because new vampires were arriving. He was excited because they represented the help that Belle Morte and the other Houses needed. He wasn't naive enough to think that their arrival would clear up this mess, but they would help and that was a huge step forward. Lately, it had started to feel like Belle Morte was fighting this battle alone, and now reinforcements were finally on their way.