Juniper Santiago - Book 2 of The Santiago Series

Domitius stood outside the barrier to his grandfather’s place before linking him. “Granddad, are you home?”

“Domitius? Is that you?” the old man asked.

“Yes, it is. I’m at the barrier,” he informed.

“Alright, hold on,” his grandfather replied.

Dominic Stanislavski had been a great king in his time, one of the greatest the vampire kingdom had ever seen, but he’d also been cursed. The curse took its toll on him, making him paranoid to everything around him.

Eventually, he moved away to a secret location after giving up the kingdom to his son, before calling in a favour from a witch friend to place a barrier around his place. He grants entry only to those he trusts.

Domitius watched the barrier go down and he went through the open gate, before the barrier went back up behind him. He walked up the long hill before finally making it to the door. With the barrier up, all his powers and abilities had been dampened, basically making him human.

“My grandson! This is quite the surprise!” Dominic said happily, embracing the younger man.

Domitius hugged his grandfather back. “It’s been a while granddad. You don’t visit anymore.”

“You know why I don’t visit anymore, but we’re not talking about that. How’s everyone back home?” Dominic asked as they headed towards the lounge.

“Everyone’s ok. We’re all trying to keep up with the comings and goings of the supernatural world,” Domitius vaguely answered.

“I do not miss those days. How is your mate? How is your child?” Dominic questioned.

Domitius smiled. “They’re great! Crystal passed the test, which means she and our little princess are back home for good.”

Dominic beamed. “That’s wonderful! That means you’re ready to take over the crown. This is wonderful news indeed. I’m so happy that you came to tell me the news in person. Your grandmother would’ve loved to have been there for your big day.”

Domitius felt his heart drop at the sight of the joy on his grandfather’s face.

“Uh, granddad, I’m not taking over the kingdom yet. That’s not why I’m here,” he admitted.

Dominic was visibly confused. “It’s not?”

“Granddad, there’s a lot that’s happening out there, and it unfortunately involves our kingdom as well. I can’t take over just as yet until we’ve figured everything out. I’m actually here because I need your help,” Domitius informed.

“I am not useful to you Dom. I no longer know how to fight,” Dominic reminded.

“It isn’t your fighting skills that I seek granddad. I need your knowledge on something,” Domitius corrected.

“Oh, in that case, I may be able to help. What do you need help with?” Dominic asked.

“When I was younger, you used to tell me stories about the older vampire covens and how they helped to make our kind as great as it is. Do you happen to know which covens these were specifically?” Domitius investigated.

Dominic frowned. “Why would you need to know that?”

“There was recently an attack on a coven of witches by some werewolves and vampires. It was a massacre to say the least. We managed to get the coven signs and I was able to track the names and details. What I’m confused about is that all the vampires there, should’ve technically not been there,” Domitius explained.

“What do you mean?” Dominic asked.

“Of the covens we uncovered, eight of them are registered, but they’re also marked as wiped out, which then leads me to question how there were then vampires attacking from these covens. There are two which aren’t even registered, and they’re the ones I was really hoping you could help me with,” Domitius elaborated.

Dominic got up and walked towards his shelf of books. “There aren’t many books that I have here that don’t contain the same information as the ones in the library at the castle, so I’m not sure if I have the answers you need. I don’t really know the names of the covens I used to tell you stories about, but I do know the signs. If you have pictures, we might be able to find something.”

Domitius took out his phone as his grandfather sat back down. “I took pictures of the signs.”

They ran through the pictures to confirm if all that Domitius had investigated was true or not, and they found that three of the covens he thought were wiped out were actually still in existence. They’d just gone into hiding.

“What about these two?” he asked.

“They’re both ancient without a doubt, but I didn’t think they were still around. They’re both the most powerful covens after the royals, and they’re sworn enemies, so it’s strange to me that you say they worked together in this massacre. Last I checked, my father had told me that they’d just disappeared about a thousand years ago,” Dominic responded.

“So, it’s not completely impossible that they’d still be around?” Domitius queried.

“I guess not. Son, what’s going on? This seems bigger than you’re making it seem,” Dominic said suspiciously.

Domitius sighed. “It’s nothing you should worry about granddad. It’s got to do with my friends and we’re working together to figure it out. You just need to stay here and not worry about anything. I’m thankful for all the information you already provided me with.”

Dominic wasn’t completely convinced, but he knew his grandson wouldn’t say any more than he already had. “Alright. I’ll take your word for it.”

Domitius stayed with him longer, learning more about the covens. There was something unsettling him the more he read, and he wanted to share his concerns with his mate. He realized that they needed to be ready for anything.

Something told him that the attack on Anastasia’s coven wasn’t just an attack.

It was a warning.

***

Boris was reading up on ancient magic when his mate wrapped her arms around his waist. He smiled, putting the book down so that he could face her. She had a gleam in her eyes and he knew her well enough to know that it only meant trouble.

“What have you done?” he quizzed.

“It’s nothing bad, or I at least think it’s nothing bad,” she replied, suddenly unsure of herself.

“Use your words Ela,” he teased.

She blushed, hiding in his chest. “I was talking to Aerie and Anastasia, and they’ve agreed to help me throw you a birthday party for your big second century.”

His mood suddenly changed, something that didn’t go unnoticed by her. “No! You can’t refuse.”

“Babe, it’s not that I don’t want it, but is right now really the right time to celebrate anything? Everything is so morbid. Besides, it would feel wrong to celebrate such a big thing without June here. She was probably as excited as you are for it,” he argued.

“Except we don’t even know when she’ll eventually come back. What if she comes back years from now? You’re not going to celebrate this until then?” she countered.

“You’re uncharacteristically negative,” he noted.

She sighed, stepping out of his hold. “Spending so much time with Odessa can do that to a person. Aside from that, I’ve really missed you, and while I understand that the timing may not be the greatest, I’d probably argue that it would be a great distraction. Yes, we have all these terrible things happening around us, but why can’t we celebrate the good as well? Are we just going to let life pass us simply because some aspects of it aren’t going great?”

“But Ela, we’re not just talking about small things here,” he disputed.

“I hear you, except given the group of people we are, I’d like to believe that our problems will never really be as mundane,” she pointed out.

He knew she was right about that much, which is why he found himself sighing in defeat. “Have you spoken to anyone else about this party?”

“I wanted to talk to Gail before anyone else. I know she’s really not in the mood for anything if it doesn’t have to do with getting Juniper back, so she might not be on board,” she replied.

“I can’t say I know how she’ll react either. You can only hope for the best,” he said.

“Is this you giving me your blessing to go ahead with it?” she asked excitedly.

He shrugged, smiling. “I mean, if you can get enough people on board, then I definitely wouldn’t mind it. I have my mate back, and we both know how I feel about hitting two hundred.”

“I know, which is why I want to make it special for you,” she beamed.

“Go wild my beacon of light,” he chuckled.

She kissed all over his face. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I love you! I love you! I love you!”

“I love you too,” he replied, laughing still.

It was only when she’d left the room that it hit him. He couldn’t believe that he’d missed it to begin with. Her incessant need to have a party must’ve been fuelled by her imprisonment days. It couldn’t have possibly been easy for her to be isolated from everyone else for so long.

She needed to fully experience some kind of joy and being around people so that she could feel like a part of society again.

She headed out looking for Gail. She could remember the day she met the woman all those years ago, and despite their differences, the two of them had become great friends. They hadn’t had a moment alone since Auriela’s return, so she was really hoping to seize the moment.

Gail was sitting outside in the garden by herself. She didn’t want to be around anyone else simply because she missed her daughter. She’d barely spent any time with Juniper before her daughter was taken away from her, and she didn’t know how to feel about the whole thing.

She was having difficulty just navigating her new life.

Even life with Balthazar didn’t seem as easy as it was when they first met. She, of course, understood the differences between then and now, but she still wanted to believe that the Balthazar she knew then would’ve moved heaven and earth to find their daughter, and not this waiting around.

These thoughts led her to believe that her mate had been through a lot. She’d spoken to Boris about how Balthazar had coped all these years without her, and the young witch had admitted that Balthazar had been through hell.

Unlike with Auriela, where they didn’t know where she was, for years Balthazar had to live with knowing where Gail was, but also knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could do to get her back.

Not without Juniper at least.

Odessa had spelled Gail in a way that only a Naturalist witch could undo what had been cast, and Balthazar’s Naturalist side was just never strong enough for the task. Instead he kept tabs on his wife, well aware that she was made to be something she wasn’t all because it was what Dayton Evigan wanted.

Balthazar knew about Juniper from the moment she was born, and by a stroke of luck, none of his mother’s magic had any influence on her, which is how he was able to keep an eye on her through her grandparents.

Over the years, he told them how to raise her and what to do at certain points in her life. He even told them what to say to her, hoping that one day, not only would he meet her, but that together they would get the love of his life back to him.

They’d achieved that, but all of it had come at a price.

Gail loved her mate completely, but she realized that she needed to spend more time with him and reacquaint herself with the man who had been through hell without his mate and daughter. They needed to know one another again so that she could understand the decisions he made better.

Auriela found the woman staring blankly ahead of her, and it wasn’t hard to pick up on the melancholy aura around her. She suddenly found herself thinking that perhaps having a party was a bad idea after all, but she wanted to ask anyway.

“Hey you,” she said softly.

Gail looked up before giving her a small smile. “Hey you too.”

“How are you Gail?” Auriela asked as she sat beside her.

“Honestly, I’m empty. I don’t know if I’m coming and going, and I miss my mate and daughter,” Gail replied.

“But Balthazar is here,” Auriela said in confusion.

“He is, but he isn’t completely here. You know how he is when he’s working on something big, and all that’s happening around us is as big as it comes. I just wish I could’ve been reunited with them both under different circumstances. Anyway, enough about me. How are you doing?” Gail asked.

Auriela sighed. “I don’t know actually. It feels weird not only being back with Boris, but just being around people again. I mean, aside from Zak and Avan visiting me, I was alone for a lot of the time, until Odessa needed me, and then I was back to being locked up. Everything is so new and so different. There are so many new faces to get used to, and I guess I’m overwhelmed at times, but because everyone is so kind and welcoming, it makes things a lot better you know?”

“I know how that feels. I felt the same way, but like you said, with how everyone else is, it makes things a lot better. You’ll see how easy it is to adopt everyone as your family,” Gail comforted.

“Tell me about Juniper,” Auriela requested with a smile.

Gail beamed, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Oh Juniper, my precious baby girl. You’re going to love her Riela. She’s like Boris in so many ways actually. She’s spunky, she’s fierce, she’s smart and she’s probably the strongest person I know. If she wasn’t who she is, I think I would’ve long gone to the Underworld myself.”

“What do you mean?” Auriela asked in confusion.

“I think I’m not fighting all of this as much as I should because I trust her. I have complete faith in that she’ll make it out of this. If I hadn’t seen first-hand just how resilient she is, then I would be out there fighting anything and everyone just to get her back. Instead, I’m sitting here, trusting in her abilities to not only bring her back, but to do so without any of us losing the people we love,” Gail explained.

“That’s amazing Gail. She truly must be something for you to have such faith in her,” Auriela commented.

Gail smiled once more. “She is.”

“Well, I’ve heard a lot about her, and I’m only about to ask you what I am because based on everything I’ve heard, she seems like the kind of person who want us to do this,” Auriela said awkwardly.

“What is it Riela?” Gail questioned.

Auriela unconsciously started playing with her fingers. “It’s Boris’ two hundredth birthday tomorrow, and I was wondering if you’d be ok with us planning a party for him. I’ve already spoken to him about it, and he’s also voiced his concerns about celebrating it without Juniper here. However, I figured we all need something to lift our moods a little, and a party will do just that. And like I said, from all I’ve heard about Juniper, it sounds like she’d want us to do this.”

“Ok,” Gail agreed.

“Please? We won’t even have to make it a- wait, did you just agree?” Auriela paused.

Gail nodded. “You’re right. June would want us to do this.”

“I really thought you were going to say no. Of all the people, I thought you’d be most against this,” Auriela confessed.

Before Gail could say anything, Balthazar and Boris headed towards them. “We need to leave right now, but we’ll be back soon.”

Auriela shared a knowing look with Gail – this was one of those missions of theirs. “What’s going on?”

“There’s an attack happening at Vistas right now. Dante, Orion and Mark have called us for help,” Balthazar informed.

“At Vistas? Is it the imposter?” Gail panicked.

“We don’t know yet. All we know is that word is going around about Mateo’s absence, and we think that’s making the other packs brave enough to attack. Everyone wants to be at the top, and to be at the top, you have to beat the packs at the top,” Boris explained.

“Alright! Go and we’ll stay here,” Auriela told them.

The two men kissed their respective mates before Balthazar teleported them to Vista territory where it already looked like a great battle had ensued. They couldn’t even see what was going on, and who was fighting who.

They were stunned when the huge black beast jumped over their heads and straight into the battle.

Mateo Santiago had arrived, and he and Zeus was undoubtedly pissed off.

***

“Your home is under attack and they think this is my doing,” Khal said, walking into the room.

“What? Someone’s attacking Vistas?” I growled.

Despite whatever situation I’m in, that’s my home and those are my people, my family.

“Yeah. My guys say it’s got something to do with a power struggle, but I think we both know better than that. This is probably his doing, so I’m going to leave this one up to you. If you go to them, they may expect you to stay, and staying there, messes with our grand plan,” he pointed out.

“Except I’ll have nothing left to fight for if I lose my family. No one dictates to me how I live my life, except maybe my mate and she isn’t here,” I said.

“So, what are you saying?” he asked.

“Get me to Vistas.”

He nodded and put his hand on my shoulder before teleporting us there. We arrived a distance away, but the battle was clear to us. Before jumping into it, I quickly scanned the area. I picked up that there were about eight different scents that didn’t belong to my pack members.

Which meant were being attacked by seven packs and a pack of rogues.

“Do you want my help?” my brother asked.

“Nah. I got this,” I said before letting Zeus take control.

I didn’t miss the arrival of my father in mating and his prodigy as Zeus jumped over them, landing us right in the middle of the battle. We growled loudly and all fighting ceased before the fear washed over the other packs.

“He’s alive,” I heard someone say in disbelief.

“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you. Mateo Santiago isn’t dead, and unless if you fancy dancing with the beast, I would think twice about continuing with this attack,” Orion spoke up.

I scanned the area and found that there were actually people who weren’t backing down.

“Don’t kill them,” I told Zeus.

“One would think you would want them dead,” he said, surprised.

“I mean, I don’t think they’re doing this out of their own will. Even if they are, we have bigger things to deal with. Killing our kind isn’t one of those things,” I argued.

“Can’t say I’m not glad to see that our mates are still influencing your decisions,” he teased.

“Yeah well, we’ve done the angry thing long enough. Now we have to be sensible and focus on getting them back,” I pointed out.

“Got it,” he agreed.

I looked back at the defiant wolves around me and instead looked for any signs of them being controlled. Now that I was aware of who I really am, I was also aware of the power I truly possess.

I could detect the faint darkness, but it wasn’t enough to declare all of these wolves innocent of their actions. I waited, watching to see which one would be brave enough to attack.

“Are you seriously not backing down?” I heard Boris ask.

That was enough to set them off as they came for me. My pack joined in the fight, and I was a little shocked to see Balthazar and Boris fighting with us. Given everything that was happening, I wasn’t sure where I stood with anyone anymore.

Especially since I was about to rattle the very foundations I have with these people given what my brother and I had planned.

I was fighting, but I’d made my message very clear to my pack members; they were not to kill anyone, and it seemed like Boris, Balthazar, Mark and Dante had caught on to the memo.

Eventually we found ourselves with a lot of passed out wolves on our land, and my pack members were injured. I issued my instructions to the relevant people, but I didn’t miss the lingering longing I was picking up.

My people missed me.

“Are we good to go?” Khal asked me.

I watched the shock descend on everyone’s faces as they took him in. We are identical twins (since we don’t know what our brothers currently look like), with our hair and eyes being the only way to tell us apart.

While they were distracted by him, it gave me an opportunity to shift and change into shorts. When I stepped out, they were still asking themselves questions about who he is, with some thinking it was me with new hair and contacts.

My brother couldn’t have cared less that he was the centre of attention.

“Alpha,” one of my pack members said when they recognized me, moving the attention to me.

“You’re with the imposter,” Orion didn’t fail to point out to me.

“I’m with my brother,” I corrected.

“Your brother?” they questioned collectively.

“Tero, we don’t have time for this. We have to move now for everything to fall into place,” Khal told me.

I nodded before turning to my father in mating. “Any word on Roman’s movements?”

He shook his head. “We’re working on it though. I’m curious to know what it is that you’re doing to help the situation.”

“I’ve just had to deal with the fact that my mate is mated to someone else. I don’t know what I’m doing at this point,” I lied. I watched as sympathy graced their faces at my false words.

“Where are you staying, and didn’t Max lock you up?” Boris asked me.

Zeus growled lowly at the mention of Max’s name and I cleared my throat. “Max tried to keep me contained, but he failed. You don’t need to know where I’m staying.”

“You’re travelling with your so-called imposter, and you’re being secretive,” Dante commented.

“I just told you that he isn’t my imposter. He’s my brother,” I defended.

“You have no brothers. I grew up with you. I would know,” Orion said sternly.

“There’s actually a lot that you don’t know, and I’m explaining none of it to you. Look after the pack and don’t worry about what I’m doing,” I told them.

Before any of them could say anything, Khal reached out to touch my shoulder before getting us out of there. We had big plans and we needed to get the ball rolling. I already knew what he was thinking without him having to say it, and no, it had nothing to do with some mind reading superpower.

I just know my brother.

“I really thought you were going to give in,” he admitted.

See?

“I know, which is why I didn’t. What we need to do is a lot bigger than dealing with just the issues at Vistas. We both need to get our mates back, and we also need to find a way to get through to Romaen,” I responded.

He frowned. “Romaen? What does he have to do with anything? He ruined our plan before, so why are we bringing him into things?”

“Because despite everything, he’s our brother. I’m also confident that he doesn’t have his memories back yet,” I explained.

“And how do you reach this interesting conclusion?” he questioned.

“Romaen is many things, but he isn’t malicious. If he had his memories back, then he’d understand that I wouldn’t do anything to him with regards to my mate. He’d instead join us in finding the answers we need and possibly getting his mate back if he doesn’t know where she is,” I elaborated.

He raised an eyebrow. “And what if he does have his memories back and he’s just choosing to do this alone? What if he thinks you’re the one who doesn’t have their memories?”

“You mean he doesn’t know that you’re alive?” I realized.

“I haven’t revealed myself to him if that’s what you’re asking. You know that you and I have always had a closer bond. I didn’t want to go to him without having been to you first,” he replied.

“I’m tempted to tease you for that, but I get it. However, I really believe that trying to get through to Romaen is a step in the right direction,” I argued.

He sighed. “I’m not fully sold on that. I feel like we should first go ahead with our plan and then think about bringing Romaen into things. Let’s level the playing field first.”

“Why are you so adamant on not involving him in this?” I asked.

“Because you yourself said that it’s his fault that we’re in this mess, and now you suddenly want to bring him in so that he could possibly meddle again? We had a plan all those years ago Tero. I would much rather we stick to it without his interference,” he replied.

“We need him to find out if we’re right about Draex,” I pointed out.

“You and I both know that Draex is dead,” he countered.

“And what about Isisily?” I asked.

“Fine. We can approach Romaen and see where that leads us, but I still insist that we do it after we execute our plans,” he argued.

“Alright, that’s what we’ll do. Is everything in place?” I questioned.

He nodded. “They’re going to be rattled, but it will buy us time to kidnap the princess.”

“Except I don’t think that they know that she’s technically the princess,” I commented.

“Leave that up to me. By the time they realize we’ve taken her, they’ll know the truth.”