Chapter Twenty-nine

Following the man who had opened the door and welcomed them in, Jon guided Mac down a hallway with a protective hand at the small of her back. Richie followed close behind the couple. Vincent seemed to have just disappeared, his task completed. Mac realized that as soon as they had walked in the door that Jon’s glamour dissolved, leaving him looking young, but not vulnerable. She took courage from his strength.

The tall dark-haired man led them to a large old-fashioned library where a small blonde woman waited. She hurried over to hug Jon.

"Oh Giovanni, it’s so good to see you again," the woman gushed.

Returning her hug, Jon answered, "It’s good to see you again too, Maria."

Mac watched as the dark-haired man pulled Jon into a man hug, saying in heavily accented English, "You have been missed, Giovanni. I wish this visit was under different circumstances."

Stepping away from the other man, Jon nodded in agreement. "Me too, Kris." Then he pulled Mac into his side with one strong arm. "Both of you remember my friend Richie." They both nodded, and Richie and Kris shook hands. The guitarist also pulled Maria in for a brief hug. "And this is my life mate, Mac."

Mac was pulled away from Jon and enveloped in a big bear hug from Kristoff. "I’m so glad to meet you, and I’m also happy he finally found you."

"Turn the poor girl loose," Maria ordered her husband. Then once he had released Mac, Maria stepped up to hug her too. "It’s nice to meet you, Mac."

"Thank you," Mac said softly.

"She’s beautiful, Giovanni," Maria said.

"Da, she is more than you deserve, old friend," Kristoff laughed, slapping Jon on the shoulder.

Mac tried to reach out to Jon then, just to see if she could. But, it was like a brick wall stood between them. She tried harder, concentrating. Jon saw her frown and asked if something was wrong.

"This is not exactly the welcome I had expected," was all she said.

Kristoff looked at Mac and smiled. "This may be where the Council has convened, but it is above all my home, and Giovanni is always welcome in my home."

"I’m well aware of my welcome," Jon told the other vampire. "But, I wouldn’t want you to get into any trouble for giving me special treatment. Call the guards, Kris. Let’s get this over with."

"The guards are outside the door, Giovanni," Kristoff explained. "If you are ready, I will call them."

"No," Mac pleaded, not sure she was ready to be pulled away from Jon.

Jon pulled her tightly against him, and nodded to Kristoff over her head. "It will be all right," he whispered into her hair. "I love you, Mac. We have to do this, but then one way or the other, everything will be okay." With a finger under her chin, he lifted her face to his and kissed her gently. "This will all be over soon, I promise." He stepped away from her, and Mac noticed the two men who had entered the room. Jon moved to stand between them.

Jon watched Mac’s eyes tear up, and she angrily scrubbed a hand at each cheek. He smiled when Richie stepped over and pulled her into his arms. He heard his friend whisper to Mac that it would be okay, that he was with her. Jon wasn’t surprised when Richie looked up at him with sadness in his eyes.

"I’ve got your back, Kidd," Richie said softly.

"I know you do. I didn’t expect anything less." he replied, then followed the two newcomers out of the room.

Mac didn’t mind if Richie saw her tears, but she refused to cry in front of Kristoff and Maria. "Could you show us to our rooms?" she asked them.

Seeing her distress, Maria stepped forward. "Of course, Mac, your bags are already in your rooms. Just follow me."

Maria had been separated from Kristoff right after she had been turned. She understood what Mac would be facing. A separation between life mates was rough. Immediate sadness at first, then after several hours there would be a physical pain that would start as an ache in the other woman’s chest, but would soon become almost unbearable. Maria was sure that Mac would have to be sedated just to keep her comfortable. She knew from her own experience that Kristoff had also experienced the pain, and she worried not only for Mac, but also for Jon.

They arrived at Richie’s room first, but he only looked inside then followed Maria to the room next door that would be Mac’s.

"Thank you, Maria," he told the woman, taking control of the situation. "I’ll take care of her from here."

Maria realized she was being dismissed, but she couldn’t go without making sure that Richie knew what would be coming. She turned to Mac. "Would you excuse us for just a moment?"

Mac looked at Richie questioningly. She had been so glad that he had seemed to take over the situation, since she couldn’t seem to think straight after Jon had been led from the library.
"It’s okay, Mac," he said gently, "I’ll just be a minute."

"Okay," she agreed weakly, before going into her room.

Maria explained the situation to Richie quickly. Leaving nothing out, she told him what would happen in the next several hours. She assured Richie that she would come with a sedative later, if he wanted. Suddenly, Richie felt out of his league. How was he supposed to take care of her, if he didn’t know what to do for her?

Maria could see the confusion on his face. "No fears, Richie," she soothed, "Giovanni is our friend as well; Kristoff and I will help take care of her. She will not suffer over much, if we can help it."

"Thank you," Richie responded. "But, I should warn you. Mac is a very strong willed woman. Very independent. She may not be willing to accept help from people she considers strangers. To be honest, I’m surprised she has clung to me like she has."

"She will continue to cling to you, Richie. Mac will see you as a sort of surrogate for Giovanni. She will need your strength and your patience."

"She already has it," he answered. "She became a member of my family when Jon told me what she was to him."

"I understand," the woman said.

"I should go to her," Richie told her. "I’ll let you know if we need anything."

"As you wish," Maria told him, and turned to go.

Richie walked through the door and suddenly found his arms full of a crying woman. Gently, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to a sofa. He sat down with her still in his arms and began to rock her gently. Smoothing her hair with one strong, long-fingered hand, he murmured soothing words to her. All he knew to do was try to comfort her as best he could.


*************************

Jon quietly surveyed the room that had been assigned to him. A strange feeling of emptiness had almost overwhelmed him only moments after he’d left Mac in the library. It was like a piece of him was missing. Somehow, he knew Mac was hurting; it felt like how he had heard amputees explain the sensation of still being able to feel an ache in their missing limb. He knew his own pain would start soon; he only hoped that it would fill the gaping hole in his soul where Mac’s lightness had resided. He tried to tell himself she was in the castle with him; that she was fine, but not being able to reach out to touch her mind was almost unbearable. It almost made it worse knowing she was so close yet so far away.

His room was actually a suite, made up of a bedroom and sitting room. In the bedroom, he found his luggage and sent out a silent thank you to Kristoff. His guitar case was among his luggage; at least he’d have one friend in his solitary confinement.

The knock on his door was as unexpected as the scent of his guest, that floated to his sensitive nose under the door.

"Come on in, Kris. It is your home after all," he called out.

Kristoff opened the door and walked in smiling. He turned to say something to the guards and closed the door. Jon motioned to one of the armchairs arranged around a low coffee table. The two vampires took a seat.

Jon was the first to break the silence. "You shouldn’t have come, Kris. This will look bad for you."

"I had a discussion with the other members of the Council. They understand that we are friends and have agreed to allow me to visit you. I am to be your liaison from them and to keep you apprised of your lifemate’s condition," Kristoff explained.

"So this is an official visit then," Jon said, nodding.

"As far as they are concerned," Kristoff told him.

"How is Mac?"

"As well as can be expected," the Russian answered.

"Don’t hand me that shit, Kris," Jon replied, "give it to me straight."

"Maria told me that she is suffering slightly from the separation. The loneliness hit her hard at first, but your friend is keeping her company. The physical pain hasn’t started yet."

Abruptly, Jon stood up and ran a hand through his hair in frustration before starting to pace the room. He wanted this to all be over quickly. Not for his sake but for Mac’s.

"When does Caleb’s trial start?" Jon turned to Kristoff to ask.

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Will I be allowed in the courtroom at the same time as Mac and Richie?" Jon knew that under normal circumstances all the witnesses against Caleb would be allowed in the Council chambers at the same time, but since those same witnesses were to testify against him at a later time, he wasn’t sure how it would be handled.

"Yes," Kristoff answered, "but conversation between you will be kept to a minimum. As you know, the Council will not allow any whispered comments. Everything must be said loud enough for everyone present to clearly hear."

"I understand," Jon nodded. He was silent for several seconds, before exploding. "I don’t know if I can take this, Kris. I need to know she’s okay."

"She will be fine, Giovanni," Kristoff told him patiently. "I, myself, will administer a sedative if it is needed. She will not suffer. I promise you this, my friend."

"You don’t know Mac," Jon warned, "she won’t ask for help. She’s strong and stubborn. She has a hard time asking for help from people she knows, and she considers you and Maria strangers."

"Your friend has already warned Maria of this problem," the other vampire replied. "We won’t wait for a request of help. We will just step in when we are needed."

"Will you be taking blood for her now, or will you come back later for that?" Jon asked.

"If you are ready, we can do that now," Kristoff answered.

At Jon’s nod, Kristoff rose and walked to the door. When he came back into the room, he carried with him medical equipment to draw blood from Jon.

"Have a seat, Giovanni," Kristoff said softly, "this will only take a few minutes."

Jon sat back down in the chair he had vacated earlier and watched as Kristoff inserted the needle in a vein in his arm. Once the blood was flowing freely through the tube and into the bag, he said very softly, "Kris, thank you for seeing that my guitar stayed with my luggage."

"You don’t have to thank me, my friend. I wasn’t ordered to take it from you, therefore it stayed. I knew what it being in here would mean to you."

Jon nodded. "You’ll let me know if there’s any problems with Mac feeding, right?"

"Of course," Kristoff answered, seeming slightly offended. "I would not let you worry needlessly. But, I assure you she will be fine. Someone will come by later to feed you."

"Kris, I didn’t mean to offend you," Jon told him quickly. "Look this is a little personal, but until now, Mac has only fed during sex. In the throes of her orgasm, is the only time she has been able to bite me and feed. I’m only concerned that she won’t feed from the bag."

"Ah," Kristoff nodded in understanding, "she has the same aversion to feeding that Maria had at first. Only the uncontrollable and instinctive urge to bite me kept my lifemate alive and well fed at first, also."

Jon laughed. "Humans. I won’t ever understand the big deal about drinking blood."

The other vampire realized, Jon was trying to lighten the mood and joined in his laughter. When the bag was full, Kristoff removed the needle from Jon’s arm and gathered the medical equipment.

"Maria will be visiting Mac and Richie shortly. We hope they will join us in the dining room for a light dinner. I will closely inspect her for any signs of pain then. I will tell you everything I know, Giovanni."

"Thanks, Kris."

Jon watched his friend leave the room. This was a hell of a lot harder than he had thought it would be. He went to his bedroom and bent to open the case. Pulling his old friend out, he sat down on the bed, with his guitar on his lap. He retrieved his notebook and pen from the case also, and began to strum idly. Every so often, he scribbled in his notebook. He didn’t know if anything he was working on would ever be heard by another soul, but at least it would take his mind off worrying about Mac.