Chapter One Hundred and Seven

Saliva and blood didn’t even have time to drip down into Bram’s face before Vlad had a chunk of his forearm bitten off. Though Bram got a thumb into the wound at the side of his father’s face as it was burning, the older vampire pinned his arms down and moved in for the kill. A flash of blue fire exploded around them, and Vlad was thrown back, cursing as fire burned around him. Blue flames which were harmless to Bram. He hadn’t seen the moment it happened, but Devon was suddenly standing there, one foot planted on either side of his chest, his arms held out in front of him.

Both vampires stopped in their tracks, staring at the child. “What…” Vlad growled but didn’t bother getting up. His mouth dangled open in pure shock. “How?”

“I won’t let you hurt my father.” The boy’s blue eyes practically glowed with ferocity.

“Devon? What the hell!” Bram gently pushed Devon aside so that he could sit up. “I told you to stay out of this.”

“He would have killed you dad. We’ve been watching. Mom tried to come instead. Would that have been better?” Devon shot, not taking his eyes off his grandfather. Bram grumbled, knowing that would *not* have been better.

“He has your magic? How? He’s nothing but a filthy human!” Vlad roared. He didn’t hesitate as he backed away into a shadow. Bram scattered for his sword, and finally tossed the candles far and wide over the room.

“No dad! Don’t light them!” Devon said, diving into a dark corner himself and disappearing.

Bram’s eyes went large, searching the room for a sign that either one of them was coming out. His sword was up, but it would be a hell of a time figuring out if he should react or not. “Don’t come close, Devon!” He called out, but the only response he got was the twittering of Eudom as it echoed around the room. The longer it took for them to come back, the more terrified he became. Circling around, waiting for the moment when his son would reappear.

It was Vlad who came first, dropping onto his back over the stone with a heavy grunt. For the first time in centuries, his cloak wasn’t wrapped around him. Small streaks of blood covered where his skin showed, and his clothing was ripped all over. Though there were no major slices, he’d clearly been given a run for his money.

“No!” Vlad screamed, his feet pushed him back toward the shadows, he’d had his cloak so long, he didn’t know what to do without it. “Who the hell are you?” In all his years alive, Bram had never seen fear in his father’s face, but it was there now. Two large shadowy arms opened from the recesses of one of the prisons, and Devon walked out. Holding the dagger Bram had left him back when they were in the van trying to escape Gavin’s apartment.

“I’m Devon. You’re my grandpa. I didn’t want to hurt you. But you were going to kill my daddy. I won’t let you do that.” Though he was just a child, his voice was stern, and he meant every word he said.

Bram couldn’t help but laugh. The pride that filled his chest bubbling out through his mouth. Vlad glared at him, “You told us he was adopted! Your mate was a virgin when she came into our home not a few days ago!” Vlad waived his hand at Devon, his eyes wild with disbelief.

“She was.” Bram shook his head, shrugging. The sword falling to his side. “But, here we are. It’s a really long story, Vlad. Tell me you give up this ridiculousness and that you’ll let me take Tyler back. Once we’ve gotten out of here, I’ll meet you and Scarlet back at the castle and explain. Having Izabella with me will be helpful, it gets complicated. But yes, he really is my child.”

Vlad looked between Devon and Bram, his eyes bouncing back and forth. “All I’ve ever wanted was a child that could defeat me of his own accord. Someone worthy to take over the Dracula name. An heir who could take down the elders if they made a decision that would kill us all. Why do you think we’ve gone through all this shit?”

Bram glared at him, “And did Mihaela ever defeat you? Is that why you preferred her?”

“She came closer than you.” Silence fell around them for a moment as the two of them glared at each other.

“Bullshit.” Bram growled, ignoring Devon’s plea to watch his mouth. “You’ve not been able to defeat me either. Didn’t it ever occur to you that you and I were simply on the same level. And I’ve taken down the elders before when I didn’t agree with their bullshit, and I’m planning on doing it again today!”

“If you guys are done kissing and making up, I could really use a hand.” A weak voice said from the prisons.

“Shit.” Bram scrambled to his feet, pulling Devon with him. “You’re done then?” He asked, walking in to see Tyler, naked, chained to the ceiling. His arms behind his back, stretching toward the cuffs and his toes barely touching the floor. “You son of a—”

“Da-A-ad!” Devon yelled before he could finish. This kid. Nearly destroys his grandfather without breaking a sweat, yet here he is, yelling at him for his language.

Bram snapped his fingers, looking toward the prison door. “The key. Otherwise, you’ll never see my son again.” Devon ran back out, before coming back, dragging Vlad by the arm.

“You have to let my Uncle Tyler go.” Devon smiled up at his grandfather. Bram could already feel himself sneering.

Vlad and Bram exchanged a look, both nodding. What were they to do in this situation? Neither really knew. Bram had been bossed around by his son before, but he hadn’t expected Vlad to do the same. “Fine.” He looked at the boy, “But you have my cloak. That’s where the key is kept.”

“Oh!” Devon turned, “Uncle Eudom?” A hand stretched from the shadowy recesses of the room holding the key in question. Devon walked right up to Vlad and held it out. “You’ll let him go now, right?”

Bram’s shackles went up. “Devon why don’t you—”

“Yeah.” Vlad snatched the key from the kid’s hand. “I’ll let him go.”

Bram scowled, unable to trust his father’s word. But when he put the key inside the cuff, Bram was there to catch Tyler before he fell to the floor. He couldn’t help but hug him close. “Here.” He offered his arm to Tyler, who immediately sunk his teeth into the meat of his wrist. “Not too much.” He said gently after a few minutes. He had to pull away, and Tyler groaned in pain. “We’ll have a good feed later, I’ll get you something one way or another, I swear.” Tyler went limp in his arms, too exhausted to do anything more.

“You filthy half breeds. A vampire should never eat from another vampire.” Vlad accused, giving Bram an evil eye.

“Hey, jackass, this is part of my power. I can heal his wounds in a third of the time by letting him feed off me. I’d offer you some to help with those,” he nodded at his father, “but I won’t. Because no matter how I look at it, you’re just a—”

“Daddy, please play nice.” Devon cut in with his little angelic voice and Bram couldn’t bring himself to continue. So, he only glared at Vlad instead. Bram shrugged it off, but it had already caught Vlad’s attention.

“Then let me take a taste. This shit hurts.” Vlad said, looking down at his leg and touching the side of his face, which were still boiling and fuming from the wound the sword made.

Bram didn’t bother to look up at him as he started to lift Tyler into his arms. “Whatever I have to give will go to him. He needs it more than you.”

Devon nodded. “You weren’t very nice to my Uncle.” His large blue eyes looked up at his grandfather, who took a step back. He glared at them but said nothing in return. “Why is Uncle Tyler naked? Should I go get him clothes?” Devon asked.

Bram stared at him a moment. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah. I think so? Uncle Eudom?” Lifting his arms up, two shadowy hands reach out, a dim pair of red eyes and a smile spread wide as they engulfed the boy with them. A moment later, Devon was gone from the room.

“You just let him take the boy? Just like that?” Vlad snapped at Bram.

“Believe me. You have no fucking idea how hard it is to see that shadow talking to them, taking my family where they will. But Iz trusts them, and they practically raised Devon when I couldn’t, so I’ll do what I must.” Bram was just angry at the whole ordeal when Eudom brought Devon back. He didn’t voice that anger, instead, he smiled at his son. “Thank you. Tyler will too, once he’s feeling better.”

As Bram was trying to get Tyler dress in the clothes Devon brought, just a t-shirt and sweatpants, he could hear footsteps coming down the hall. “Devon, that’s Gavin and your grandma. Can you bring them here?” Devon nodded enthusiastically. “Let them know we’re okay.” He nodded again. When the boy was sure there were no other instructions, he ran off.

“How the fuck did you know it was them?” Vlad’s arms were crossed over his chest. He was leaning against the wall, glaring at Bram as he held Tyler.

“Because I already knew they were in cahoots.” Bram said, still holding Tyler close. He didn’t like how cold his skin was. Bram pulled him into his lap.

“What?”

“Scarlet and Gavin. They were in this together. They wanted us to go up against each other. Both for very different reasons. Gavin made mention of it to me a few nights ago. Scarlet basically wanted us to either piss or get off the pot. Gavin wanted Tyler back, and helped get me here.” Bram pushed Tyler’s dirty hair back behind his ear, pulling him back into his lap as he waited for the others to get here. “Once he felt Tyler’s relief, he had my permission to come down here.”

“Felt? Two men can’t be mates. That doesn’t make any sense.” Vlad snarled.

Rolling his eyes Bram groaned, “Why not? They have the same chances of having a child as a male and female vampire. Which is no chance. And we’re not supposed to mate with other species. Remember?”

“Yeah, that shit’s gotta go.” Vlad complained. “You clearly have strong seed. That grandson of mine is amazing. Pure Alpha instinct all the way.”

“Stop making us sound like dogs.” The two weren’t able to continue arguing after that. Gavin skid to a stop in front of the prison, gasping.

He rushed forward, leaning over Tyler he pulled him into his arms, placing kisses over his face as he cried, pulling his lover into his arms. “Oh, love, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”