Vampires of the Beloved Gem #3
Even aged Scotch cannot compare to the sweetest wine when it comes to your beloved.
Fergus McGregor doesn’t like change. It was difficult enough leaving behind the pub that had been in his family for centuries. Now he has to accept not only a new boat but also more help behind the bar? Though he prefers to work alone, when he sees the soulful brown eyes across from him, they make him want things he never thought he wanted.
Seven years have passed since Montgomery’s older brother left and came to the human realm, leaving a young Montgomery behind. Now, Montgomery is old enough to leave the fae realm and finally find his own mate. He doesn’t care who he is, only that he got away from his parents. First, according to the Fate Thomas, he has to take a little vacation aboard the Beloved Gem. But who is the cranky redhead behind the bar, and why does he make his body tingle?
Montgomery grew up thinking vampires couldn’t be trusted around fae because of the draw of their blood. He’s learned differently and discovered the pleasure from Fergus’s bite can be quite…enticing. And well, Fergus learns just how much trouble a little fae can be.
Fergus’s Hurricane is the third book in the Vampires of the Beloved Gem series. Each book in the series focuses on a different couple, but these books should be read in order as there is an ongoing backstory, and previous couples will make appearances in future books. This is a fated mate MPREG story with plenty of sexy times. You should expect all the normal vampire shenanigans and sometimes love bites in unexpected places.
1
FERGUS
Mo chridhe: my heart (mo CHree-yuh) Stress is on the first syllable CH pronounced as in loch or Bach; not as in church
Was it too much to ask that my crates of supplies be put where I wanted them? It wasn’t as if this was a new request. Not at all. It had been the same request since I had joined the Gem and Master Nikolai discovered I had bartending experience. If owning a pub for the better part of a century counted as experience.
I checked the new stockroom and cringed. The beer was stacked on top of the liquor, and both were on top of the kegs. Whoever had delivered the supplies this time around didn’t know what they were doing. And whoever had accepted the delivery was going to find their arse chewed out just as soon as I found out who they were.
I started sorting crates, organizing to type and if they needed refrigerated or not. A knock on the storeroom door stopped my progress. When Matteo’s curly head poked in, I cursed under my breath.
“I heard that. Too bad though. I found you, and Master Nikolai is back and is asking for you.”
“Be right along.” I placed the case of longnecks with the rest of the beer and left the storeroom. Matteo was right outside the door, waiting for me.
“Matteo, I have to ask.”
“What’s that?”
“How is it that you are so much shorter than the rest of us?” It was rude and I knew it, but I had wondered for years.
“Why are you so much grouchier than the rest of us?” Matteo fired back.
I glared at him. I was not grouchy. Matteo pointed at me, then rolled his eyes. He ignored me the rest of the way through the boat. When we finally reached Master Nikolai’s office, Matteo knocked twice, opened the door, gestured me inside, then closed the door with him outside. I turned, looking around the room, finding a smiling Master sitting on the front of his desk.
“Master,” I said, dipping my head in respect.
“Fergus. Come in and have a seat.”
That did not bode well. What had I done? I tried to remember what I could have done to get myself into trouble, but I was coming up with nothing. Remembering Master Nikolai had just come back from a long weekend in Montana visiting Gio, I brought up the baby.
“How is little Angelo doing, sir?” I asked as I sat. The transformation on Master Nikolai’s face was instant.
“Getting bigger. He’s gaining weight and is completely healthy. You should see Lucius with him. That baby has him completely wrapped around all of his fingers. That is not why I asked for you to be brought to my office, so don’t think I will let you distract me by mentioning my grandson.”
“No, sir.” I was shocked when I first heard that Master Nikolai had a son, Giovanni. Diego told me that he wasn’t his biological son but had raised him from when he was a young boy, and he considered him as such.
“It is kind of you to ask, and when I talk to them this evening, I will be sure to let them know you asked after him. He is such a joyful little baby. But the reason I asked for you is because I have hired a new bartender.”
My world dropped out from under me.
“I’m sorry…I have displeased you in some way?”
“I did not mean it that way. Only that I have hired a second one. You will be working in shifts now, allowing you to have more downtime.”
“I do not require time off of work.”
Master Nikolai pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fergus, although I appreciate your dedication to what you do, you have not taken a single vacation day since you came to us fifteen years ago. You are an excellent bartender. But with the now larger boat, there will be more guests. That means more people at the bar.”
Would it though? The majority of my customers were the humans that used to be on the cruise. We catered to only paranormals now, and more often than not, they were not what one would call big drinkers. It took so much more alcohol to affect us.
“If that is what you wish, then I will do my best to welcome them.”
“Good. His name is Adam. He will be at the bar at five this afternoon.”
“Yes, sir.” I sat there, waiting. Was that all or was there more? With Master Nikolai, you never knew.
“Good. I am looking for a third, but these things take time as I am incredibly picky about it. You understand, don’t you?”
“Not really, Master. But you feel a need to hire additional bartenders, who am I to argue?” I started to stand but thought better of it and stopped.
“There was nothing else, Fergus. You are free to go back to whatever it was you were doing.”
“Righting the stockroom. I wasn’t here when the order was delivered.”
“Another reason for a second bartender. It will allow for you to not always have to be present for things such as this. I apologize if a mess was made of your stockroom. I will have someone along to help you right it.”
“No need, Master. I was almost finished when Matteo found me.”
“Very well. I will see you later this evening, then.”
I knew I had been dismissed, so I nodded to my master and left the office. I found Matteo standing just outside the door but ignored him. I found my way back to the bar and went back to fixing my stockroom.
Why would he hire a new bartender? I didn’t need a day off. When I took time off, things like this happened. I looked around my stockroom and tried to remain calm. Another bartender just meant someone else in my space.
I did not like people in my space. Ever. It wasn’t until Diego’s little beloved came along that I let someone behind the bar—other than Master Nikolai, that was. But I knew that wouldn’t last because little Nigel had been pregnant. Now he and Diego were new dads, and Nigel was busy taking care of Noah.
I sighed. I missed my family. Mostly I missed my nieces and nephews. I used to love getting to spend time with them, but we all had to move on because there were too many questions about how we never seemed to age.
Which meant an “accident” had happened, taking the lives of several of us. The younger generation was still there, carrying on the family tradition. While my sisters and brother had moved to other places in Europe and Australia, I chose to come to America simply because I was ready for a change. Master Nikolai was more than willing to offer that to me, something I was grateful for.
I finished organizing the stockroom, then started stocking the bar. I needed it to be ready. It was the first night of a new cruise, which was always busy, and it wouldn’t be good to run out of something if it could be prevented by simply stocking the bar.
After I had made sure everything was ready, I went to the employee dining hall and grabbed lunch. I was perfectly happy sitting all by myself at a corner table, but that simply wasn’t meant to be. No. Diego decided he needed to join me. I wouldn’t have minded if he had his beloved and their son with him. But just Diego? I found myself continually struggling to relate to our coven’s second.
“I did not do anything,” I said and simply went back to eating my meal.
“Who said you did?”
I set my fork down, wiped my mouth, then took a drink of water before returning the glass to the table. “In the fifteen years I have been here, I can count on one hand how many times you have willingly come over to sit with me. What is the issue today, Diego?”
Diego looked genuinely surprised at my statement, but it was true. True, I didn’t make an effort to fraternize with the others, and I was a bit…grouchy. But either I was in trouble, or Diego needed something.
“Very well. I was sent by Nigel. He had asked about you and wondered how you were doing. I told him I would check in with you and see.”
I felt myself soften at the mention of the sweet shifter. He was so overwhelmed and sick when he first arrived on the boat. I felt bad for him, did my best to distract him from his stomach being upset, and realized I liked his company. He was…safe. He was already mated to Diego, and I knew that the younger vampire wouldn’t think I was after his beloved.
Nigel was funny, easy to talk to, and reminded me of my brother’s beloved. Having him around seemed to make the evenings go faster and helped to alleviate some of the homesickness I knew I was having.
“That is so very thoughtful of him. How is he doing? And your little babe? I haven’t seen Noah in a few weeks.”
“Nigel has been spending some time in Amherst. His penguin felt the need to come out more than usual, and they have more room and a pool.” Diego chuckled while staring out the window at the river. “When I arrived on Saturday morning, it was to see both Nigel and Theodore waddling through the manor as if it were a normal thing.” Diego shrugged, then looked at me. “I guess for them it was. Something like that really wouldn’t be appropriate here on the boat. He can shift in our suite, but unless I’m with him, there is nobody to watch Noah.”
“Is this normal? For him to spend so much time shifted?”
“I asked. Theo said it wasn’t unheard of, especially after a pregnancy. Anyway, Nigel is in our suite for this cruise. He’s said his penguin is finally happy, and he’s really missed being away from me. I’ll admit, it’s been difficult not having them here on the boat with me.”
“Although I cannot relate to missing my beloved, I do know what it is like to miss loved ones. I am glad they are here with you. Any news on the Evergreen pack?”
“Not since the alpha was put to death. With his oldest already dead, the pack was passed down to his youngest since they had a daughter that had moved away and had no interest in coming back to run the pack. The youngest seems more accepting and understanding. He has his work cut out for him though. The pack seems to have a lot of members that share beliefs with their old alpha.”
I winced. The beliefs of the old alpha and his firstborn were the reason Diego and Nigel had issues while out in town in the first place. It was also why Diego had done what he had to protect his then pregnant beloved. None of us had faulted him for it, and most all of us had been put in a situation where we’d had to take a life before. Sadly, it was just how many paranormals had to live their lives.
“Yeah. On the one hand, I feel bad for the guy. But on the other, I don’t. So many of us were dealt shitty parents or families to have to deal with. But he’s going to have his work cut out for him with weeding out the ones left in the pack that didn’t want to move forward with the times.”
“I haven’t heard. Are they causing issues still?” I picked up my water and took another drink.
“Not for us, no. Last I heard, the new council had enforcers that they’ve started sending out. You’d have to ask Master Nikolai more about that though. He has more of an inside on that through Gio.”
“If the mood strikes, I will.” I glanced at my watch, already knowing it was getting close to time for the guests to start boarding. I stood, grabbing my plate and water glass, hoping Diego would take the hint.
“Good. By the way.”
I stopped and returned my attention to the younger vampire. When he didn’t continue, I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Nigel would very much like it if you would come by tomorrow before your shift to see him.”
I was a bit surprised because I’d never been invited to anyone’s suite before. I’d never even hung out with them outside of normal “staff” meetings.
“I will stop by before lunch if that time works for you.”
“It does. I’ll be sure to let Nigel know.”
I nodded once, then walked away. After I scraped my plate and placed everything in the bin, I went back to my own room. I didn’t ever welcome the guests on board, nor did I attend their first dinner. That meant I would have the afternoon to myself to either rest or triple-check everything in the bar area. The casino didn’t open until 7:00 p.m., and with it, my bar opened. It was quite the gig, actually. I was only technically at work, dealing with guests for seven hours. But there was of course the early morning hours that came with restocking and such.
I ducked into the staff quarters and walked to the middle of the hallway and held my card in front of my room. With the new Gem came new technology, and although I was all for advancement, I missed the old, thick iron keys sometimes. I still had some in a frame in my room, but they just weren’t practical anymore. Pity.
When I stepped inside my room, I sighed in relief. My tiny window was covered, blocking out the sun. Everything was perfectly in its place, and I toed off my shoes before I stripped down to my boxers to take a nap. I had a feeling it was going to be a crazy night, and a nap would most likely do me good, so after I laid my clothes over the back of my lone chair, I turned the light off and walked over to my bed, where I slid between the cool sheets. I sighed at the feeling.
I missed having a warm body lying next to me, but I learned long ago that it did not do well to become too attached to someone that wasn’t my beloved. They either eventually found their own fated mate or simply tired of being associated with a vampire.
Thinking of those past relationships did nothing but cause more frustration, so I rolled over and stared at the white wall. There were thin, light silver stripes on the wallpaper, something that was both a nice touch as well as an annoyance because it simply looked a little too much like a hotel. Then again, we were a floating hotel and casino.
I closed my eyes, wondering if I would be able to doze off, and if so, what would today’s dreams be about? Would I be allowed to rest peacefully, or would my dreams be about past horrors that I would much rather forget?
I lay there, staring at the wall, then rolled to do the same with the ceiling. My mind did not want to give in and rest though, and that would be an issue later this evening if I couldn’t get some sleep.
I pulled my blanket over my head, hoping the added barrier would help trick my body into thinking it was time to be asleep instead of awake. The biggest issue was having to get up in the early morning hours to deal with deliveries. Perhaps Master Nikolai was onto something when he hired another bartender. Having a second person that could be trusted with such things could be beneficial.
I finally felt myself start to become drowsy and closed my eyes and let my body rest, hoping for the best.
When my alarm went off hours later, immediately I felt the boat in motion, telling me that I had slept through not only the departure, which could be a noisy affair with the steam horn, but everything else that had happened since I had eaten my late breakfast.
I lay there a moment, allowing my body to come fully awake, then rolled from the bed to get started with my day. I had to prep the bar and would need to figure out how much the new guy knew or didn’t know.
After a quick shower, I dressed in my uniform of black slacks, a black button-down shirt, and a crimson-red silk tie. I left my room and went to join the others in the dining hall. Like always, I would sit alone, preferring my own company rather than having to listen to the others go on and on about this or that—usually things that did not interest me in the slightest.
Dinner tonight—or lunch for those of us getting ready to come on to shift—consisted of toasted ravioli, salad, garlic knots, and triple-chocolate cake. I did not quite understand the pairing of ravioli with another grain side dish, but it was something I had come to accept. We ate what the guests did, and tonight’s main option was toasted ravioli, so that was what we got.
Why couldn’t we have a good haggis or a meat pie? They had smoked salmon every cruise, so there was that. But still, was it too much to have some beans? Or even a good stew? Aside from my family, I probably missed the foods from Scotland more than anything. But when you landed on a casino riverboat filled with Italians, the cuisine shifted drastically.
I filled my plate, then went back to the table I had been at earlier. I made it halfway through my meal before Diego showed back up. I would have complained a bit if not for the fact that he wasn’t alone.
“Fergus, this is Adam, your new bartender. I thought I would introduce you here, then the two of you can talk about shifts, supplies, and all that other fun stuff before you sulked off to your bar.”
“Hi there. Do you mind if I join you?” Adam asked. I sent Diego a glare while he walked off, smirking. I would definitely get back at him somehow.
“I don’t mind, no. Have a seat.”
“Thanks. My mate is in our room, still trying to come to grips with the fact that we’re on a boat with a bunch of vampires.”
That piqued my interest, and Adam seemed to realize that.
“She’s human. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve not really belonged to a pack or anything for some time. My old pack didn’t accept humans as mates, and my wolf was more than happy to spend time with ours, living in the suburbs.”
“What changed?”
“The same as always, it seems. We don’t age, and others around us did. We decided to sell our house and move elsewhere. It was pure luck I found this position.”
“Do you have any bartending experience at all?”
Adam smiled while chewing.
“I do. I spent the last ten years as head bartender at a popular bar in Colorado. It wasn’t uncommon for us to be filled to capacity every night, even on Tuesdays, which were usually slower for a lot of the other local places.”
“Good to hear. If you’re as good as you are implying, I think we’ll get along just fine.”
“They told me you’d be a hard sell. I hope to prove them wrong.” Adam grinned again, then went back to eating. We ate in silence, something I was grateful for. As the evening went on, I’d find out just how much Adam did or didn’t know.
The Men of Crooked Bend Series is what started it all for me and it was incredibly difficult to let those men go. It was originally supposed to be a trilogy but it ended up as a ten book series with a bonus book that's part of The Snow Globe Christmas Series. In the Men of Crooked Bend series, you get to know the cowboys and other men of Wild Creek Ranch in Crooked Bend, Wyoming (a totally fictitious town). The series is set in the foothills of the Grand Teton Mountains, a place I fell in love with as a teenager.
I have a closely related spin-off series called Sulfur Springs. In it you leave Wild Creek and go to the little neighbor town of Sulfur Springs and meet the sexy men of the Sulfur Springs Fire Depart, the sheriff's department, as well as quite a few US Marshals. You see some familiar faces but you also meet some very new ones. It’s finally finished and ended up being a nine book series.
I love to read, it’s always been one of my favorite things to do since I can remember. When I started writing, I couldn't decide if I wanted to write contemporary or paranormal as I love both. I chose contemporary but still, paranormal was talking to me and those darn shifters kept saying, “tell our story, it’ll be fun.” So I did. And it was. That’s how I started my Honey Creek Den series. Honey Creek is another totally fictitious town set on Flathead Lake (a real place) in Montana. I've never been there, but hope to get there at some point. Honey Creek Den is finished with the planned six books. The Timber Valley Wolf Pack is also finished with six books and now I've moved onto the Warlocks of Amherst Series. This series takes us away from the den and pack and we get to know Edison's warlocks in Amherst, Massachusetts.
When I'm not busy writing about cowboys, architects, sheriffs, firefighters, US Marshals, bears, tigers, or warlocks (to name just a few), I like to read (who doesn't?). Because of my limited free time, I’m fond of short stories and novellas. I can be found on Amazon, Book Bub, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
EMAIL: AuthorTaylorRylan@gmail.com
Fergus’s Hurricane #3
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