Blood Contract
131
“Danny is a part of this coven now,” Dominic continued. “He is my mate and now holds the title of royal consort. He will rule this coven by my side. A threat against him is a threat against me, and I will deal with it as such.”
“But, sire, he’s human.”
“He is.”
Danny flinched when he felt Dominic’s hand tighten on his neck.
He wasn’t afraid of Dominic, but the man didn’t know his own strength.
The man that had spoken a moment before looked confused. “I thought we were unable to mate any except other vampires.”
“Not only is that not true,” Dominic said as he drew Danny closer to his side, “but my mate is proof of that. You might also be interested to know that Prince Zacarius Ivinovav of the Ivinovav Coven has a shifter as his mate and royal consort.”
“Then we can mate others?” the man asked. “Humans and shifters alike?”
“Yes,” Dominic answered simply.
Danny was shocked when the man grabbed the blood donor standing next to him and pulled him close to his side. “Then I request acceptance of my blood donor into our coven as my mate.”
Dominic chuckled. “So be it, Thomas. Your mate is welcome in our coven and will be recognized as your mate as soon as you claim him.”
Thomas grinned widely, as did the man at his side. “We’ll take care of that right away, sire.”
Dominic nodded. “Be sure to bring your mate by to formally meet me when you’re done.”
Thomas whipped his blood donor out of the room so fast that Danny had to blink to realize the spot where they stood was vacant.
He laughed as he looked up at Dominic. “Well, that was easy.”
“Don’t fool yourself, chéri. This is just the calm before the storm.” Dominic nodded his head toward the restless crowd that stood
132
Stormy Glenn
before them. “They’re just getting warmed up. I can already tell that there are several that do not share Thomas’s opinion of humans joining the coven. They are going to be even more upset when I set down the rules concerning blood donors.”
“How bad do you think it’s going to be?” Danny whispered as he looked out over the crowd.
“I do not know, my love, so stay close to my side. Sully and I will protect you.”
When Danny saw the hatred in the eyes of several that looked in his direction, he began to wonder if even Dominic and Sully could keep him safe. Dominic was right, not everyone was happy about what he was doing, and he hadn’t even mentioned the whole blood donor thing.
“My new mate is a very intelligent man. As he has spent some time being a blood donor, he has brought to my attention something that has been overlooked for way too long, and it’s high time that is rectified.” Dominic’s arm slid down to wrap around Danny’s waist.
“As my mate has pointed out to me, blood donors supply us with the life-giving blood, and yet we treat them like cattle.”
“They are cattle,” someone shouted from the back of the crowd.
Dominic growled and suddenly stormed off the small stage they were standing on. He stalked across the room, the crowd parting as he swept through them. Dominic didn’t even stop moving when he grabbed a man at the back of the room by his throat and lifted him off the floor. He just kept on walking until the man slammed into the wall. Dominic growled again and leaned in closer to the man he held.
“You are no longer welcome in my coven.”
Without another word, Dominic tossed the man through the open doors leading into the entry hall. He pointed to the man as he landed on the floor, his angry gaze arcing through the room. “Anyone that feels the same as he does may leave now. I refuse to have anyone in this coven that holds with these beliefs. Humans are not cattle. They are our life’s blood and will be treated with the honor and dignity they
Blood Contract
133
deserve. Anyone that fails to do so will meet a swift and painful end.
Am I clear?”
Danny wasn’t surprised when several vampires moved past Dominic and walked out of the house. He was, however, surprised at the large number that stayed. He was even more shocked at the number of vampires that began looking at their blood donors in curiosity. Danny wasn’t sure if the blood donors would thank him or gang up to kill him. None of them looked very happy.
Danny was grateful when Dominic walked back to stand next to him. He could feel Sully standing next to him, but he felt better with Dominic by his side. If he had his way, Dominic would never leave his side again.
Danny reached over and tugged on Dominic’s arm until his mate looked down at him. “Are we done?” Danny could think of about a million things he’d rather be doing than standing there before the entire coven, starting with getting Dominic naked and into bed.