The Major's Mate

10

She mockingly gasps. "Rude!"

"Celeste," a British voice rumbles, amused. "How is Washington treating you, sweetheart?"

Chuckling and then coughing, she answers, "That's actually what I'm calling about. I need you."

A beat of silence passes and the voice turns hard. "What happened?"

"A werewolf happened."

"I'll kill him. Or her."

"Settle down, Nik," she muses. "Jasper all ready killed it, but not before it took a bite out of my shoulder."

"..Jasper?"

She sighs. "Boyfriend. Mate, actually. He's a Cold One." Celeste grins as Jasper suddenly fidgets. "But I'll fill you in later. I really need you here as soon as possible."

"The jet's being prepped as we speak," he says. "Now let me speak to that mate of yours."

"You're on speaker," she says. "The coven leader Carlisle and his mate Esme are in the room as well. Play nice."

A growl resonates through the speaker and Celeste rolls her eyes. "Who am I speaking with?"

Jasper's spine straightens and his back stiffens. "Jasper Whitlock, sir."

"The only reason I am not threatening to rip you limb from limb, Jasper Whitlock, is because she called you her mate. Is it true?"

"Yes, sir."

A sigh comes next. "Very well. Celeste needs to be comfortable now," he says. "The aches and pains are only going to worsen, and the hallucinations won't be far off. She'll need blood to stave off the hunger and she'll be confused. You must be ready for anything, mate or no mate."

"I understand."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

The call disconnects and Jasper hands the phone back to Esme. Smiling sheepishly, Celeste says, "So that was Niklaus. I swear he was only that intense because my safety is at stake here."

"Was he telling the truth?" Esme asks, moving into Carlisle's side and tucking herself under his arm. "Is your health really going to get that bad?"

"Yes." A wave of grief washes over them and Celeste immediately reaches for Jasper. "Hey. Hey, don't feel like that. Nik will get here and feed me the cure, and it'll be okay. I'll heal quickly after."

"New Orleans is far away, darlin'. He'll be cuttin' it real close."

"Then you're just going to have to hold it together, soldier. It's going to get ugly, but only for a bit. I need you to stay strong."

Jasper's eyes dart over every feature of Celeste's face, looking for any hint of doubt. When he finds none, he gives her a terse nod.

"Jasper, get a hold of everyone else and tell them to stay put. Celeste will be needing blood and I rather not tempt their thirst. If you can't handle it, I'd rather you go somewhere else while Esme and I tend to Celeste."

"I'm stayin'." Jasper's tone is final and he presses a chaste kiss to Celeste's forehead before leaving to make the call.

Esme then helps Celeste to one of the bathrooms, helping her clean up and dress the wound on Celeste's shoulder. Afterwards she's settled in Jasper's bed and the three Cold Ones linger around, Carlisle the only one leaving to grab a few blood bags from Celeste's home.

As the hours slowly tick by, the three Cold Ones don't bother hiding their fear when the sweats and shakes start. Celeste tries to assure them that it's normal, but hearing and seeing a vampire look so sickly is not normal to them.

Carlisle then warms up some blood before serving it up to Celeste in a styrofoam cup when she complains about being thirsty, and Carlisle and Esme watch with pride in their eyes as the scent doesn't faze Jasper at all.