When Esme doesn't hear back from Jesse after a couple of hours she looks for Benjamin. "Ben, I'm not wanted here any more. It's time for me to leave." Esme says heavily and is desperately trying to keep from crying once more. If she starts she's sure that she won't leave. She can't stay here where that bitch is taking over.
She can't take the boys ignoring her. It's killing her.
"I'll pack my things. It shouldn't take me very long. Where are we going, princess?"
His kind words are all that she needs to break her fragile control. Benjamin takes her into his arms. He knows that she would prefer the arms of one of the vampire lords or even his alpha but he does the best he can to help the fragile human.
"I'm no longer the princess or even a lady, Benjamin. I've over stayed my welcome here. If your people will still accept me even if I'm no longer wanted by the vampires then we'll go there. If not you can just escort me to one of the human villages. One far away from the castle. I don't want to chance running into one of them." Try as she might she can't hold back all the pain she feels at her words.
Benjamin stills at her words. "You will always be welcome among my people, and you will always be considered a lady by us, no matter what the vampires do or say." Benjamin tries to reassure her.
Esme smiles bitterly, "And if they order me put to death?"
Benjamin takes in a shocked breath, "It would never come to that, Esme. They love you, from the first I've saw them with you they loved you."
"Yeah, that was then. Now they refuse to even be in the same room as me. They have that new bitch and I'm not needed."
"I'll be ready within an hour, my Lady." Benjamin has no other words to give her. Esme nods disconsolately and leaves Benjamin to his packing. She will take nothing with her other than the clothes on her back. Just as she arrived. She has no doubt that the bitch will be more than happy to take her jewels and clothes, since they are of a size.
Esme takes the time to track down Jesse. It takes some time since he wasn't in either his room or the study. She finally finds him outside in the garden. This makes her even more bitter. Jesse dislikes the pain that comes from being in the sun and avoids it almost as much as Carlo.
"Jesse, I need to talk to you, please." Esme does her best to keep her feelings from her voice. Jesse immediately stands and excuses himself from the bitch and her other mates.
Hoping that she is wrong she goes to touch his face and he shies away from her hand. Tears once more fill her eyes. She fights for control of her emotions before she loses it. Jesse just waits patiently for her to speak.
Benjamin is just coming down the stairs as she starts speaking and so he hears everything that she says and how painful it is for her to say it. "I want you to remove all the marks you and your brothers have made." The mate marks shouldn't be that easily removed but since by their actions the others have rejected her she has no doubt that her request will be sufficient to remove the mate marks as well.
"I will then leave so you, Carlo, Desanto, and Santo will be able to find happiness with Sandra. I have over stayed my welcome here. I won't stay any longer." That last was said in a voice just over a whisper. "All I want is for you all to be happy."
Unnoticed by them all the other vampires had entered as well. They stand there and listen but don't say anything.
Esme looks behind Jesse and sees them and can't hold back the tears. "I love you all too much to stay where I'm no longer wanted."
"As you wish, Esmeralda." Jesse says emotionlessly. Then he starts the process of removing the claiming marks. That was painful, but when he started on the mating marks that was excruciating. Not just to Esme, but to the others as well.
Benjamin decks Jesse out before running to Esme and gathering her to him. "Are you trying to kill her?" He demands looking at Jesse.
"What the fuck did I do?" Jesse asks looking lost and horrified. The other three vampires are the same.
Jesse recovers quickly and acts. He grabs Sandra and before any one can do anything he twists her neck killing her instantly.
He then goes over to Esme but Benjamin pulls her away from him. "Haven't you done enough, Lord Jesse?"
"Give her to me, I might be able to save her still." Jesse is desperate. Once the pain of the mate mark hit him it broke the spell the witch had placed on him and his brothers. He remembers what Esme told him. Then he remembers what he did after he left her room.
The spell must have been placed over the castle rather than on a specific person since he was already half way under her spell before he found her. By the time he found her he was unable to do what was necessary to break the spell.
"What is going on here?" Demands the king as he spies his son crying over a female that he is now holding and his son's brothers standing behind him looking either horrified or sick. He also sees a strange male that by smell is a wolf. He holds back his snarl of distaste. There is no love lost between him and the wolves.
Then he sees the corpse of the witch and his snarl becomes vocal. "You killed that bitch? Good for you."
Yet still none of them move to even look at him. They all keep their focus on the female, the human female that is lieing very still in Jesse's arms. He can hear her heart beat, but it's very faint and is fading.
He moves slowly over to his son and kneels at his side. "Jesse, is this your mate?"
"I don't have the time father, please, don't interrupt me." Jesse says but keeps his focus on the female doing his best to heal her, but no matter what he does the heartbeat doesn't get better.
"I can help, but I need to know what's wrong. What happened to her? Was the witch attacking her?" The king probes.
It is the words that he can help her that brings Jesse's attention to his father. "The witch had enspelled Santo, Desanto and Carlo in that order before I returned home. As soon as I walked in the door the spell started working on me. Before I could deal with the witch I was also enspelled. Esme asked for me to remove all marks, not just our claiming marks but our mate marks as well. By the time she requested that, I was fully under the witches spell. I had no problem doing so.
"I was easily able to remove the claiming marks, but the mate marks caused her to scream out in pain and also for pain to hit all four of us."
This puzzles the king and he asks, "Why would it affect any of your brothers?"
"She was mated to all of us and we are mated to Jesse as well." Carlo answers the king on behalf of Jesse who returned to trying to strengthen Esme.
The king hides his shock. That isn't something that has ever been done before. But then most vampires are too selfish to share even a slave, let alone a mate. Jesse and his brothers have always had a close bond, but he never thought, even for a second that they had one that close.
"There is only one way you'll be able to save her. You must reestablish the mate bonds. If you don't she will be dead within the hour." The king says regretfully. He is sure that it is due to the influence of the human in Jesse's arms that there was less anger in his son when he first came to the castle at his summons.
He'd hoped that with Jesse finding his mate that Jesse would finally be willing to forgive him.
If Jesse's mate dies he has no doubts that Jesse would blame him.
And he'd be right. If Jesse had been there when they found the witch then she wouldn't have been able to release the spell. It was because of his interference that his son's human mate is dying.
All four of the vampire brothers once more bite their human mate reestablishing their mark.
At first it seems to be working but then her heart stops.
"Jesse, you must turn her or you'll lose her forever," the king says urgently waking Jesse from his shocked stupor.
Jesse immediately bites Esme and after taking as much of her blood as he can tells his brothers to feed as well. He can't take enough.
All three of his brothers start feeding from their mark.
Once the blood is gone Jesse bites her with the intent to turn her. Once that is done he picks her up in his arms and carries her to his room.
The three brothers follow him up.
"Let me get you a room, your majesty." Benjamin says after the silence lengthens to an awkwardly long time.
"Thank you, that would be appreciated. I don't think my son or his brothers will be willing to leave her side until the change is complete."
"How long do you think that will take?" Benjamin asks even as he orders a maid to make the best guest room ready for the king. The maid gives a little curtsy and hustles away to prepare the room.
"It took nearly a day for Jesse to turn. I have no idea how long the others took to turn. Generally the more powerful a vampire the less time it takes. If she has been feeding all of them for any length of time, that will also lessen the length of time it will take."
"They took her in seven years ago and she's been feeding them ever since." Benjamin tells the king and moves uncomfortably under the gimlet stare of the king.
"And she hadn't turned yet?" The disbelief is strong.
"We only would need a couple of swallows when feeding from her to satisfy us better than drinking a human dry." Santo says coming into the room. "Forgive us, Majesty for our lack of hospitality."
The king waves away Santo's concern. "I understand the reason why. How is she?"
Santo shrugs, "Until the turn is complete, it's impossible to tell if they will make it. You know this as well as any of us do. I just came to make sure that you will have everything that you will need. The staff are at your service, just ask for whatever you want. If you drink from a human we ask that you take one of the male slaves. The females have been promised to the wolves. We can't afford to have one accidently killed at this time. As it is, the alpha is going to be beyond furious."
"My things should be arriving in a couple of hours." The king says and keeps his questions to himself.
Santos nods, "I'll give instructions to the staff to have them brought up. Benjamin, I know this is a lot to ask, but would you be willing to stay and make sure his majesty has all that he needs? I promise we will let you know if anything changes."
Benjamin nods. Santo lets out a sigh and takes his leave to return to Esme's side.
Once Santo is out of earshot the king turns to the wolf and pins him down with his stare. "Why the hell would your alpha give a shit what happens to my son's mate?"