Victoria felt Vail’s strong arms support her as she fell faint against him. Everything was so overwhelming. Vail was engaged to another vampire by his father, Lord Hygrace forbade his son from seeing her, her mother had a secret son who happened to be half vampire. A war was imminent between her family, the Saints and the Wynters. Her father was dead, and she wasn’t sure she’d even live past today. She just couldn’t take much more drama and stress. But the Moncourier Clan were there to help them survive this war. It concerned James’s half sister and his mother, so it concerned his entire clan. James saw how faint she went and demanded a Saint get her a chair. He had taken his stance of future heir of the clan seriously. 

A saint grabbed a soft cushioned lounge chair and brought it to the foyer so Vail could sit her down in it. Once seated she gathered her thoughts. She looked up at the approaching vampire with raven hair. He had Diana’s blue eyes. Victoria’s eyes. James walked up to her but kept his distance, he knew the power of her blood and there was a remnant of the smell on Vail’s breath. He shot the Hygrace an heir, he knew he’d fed on her recently. But he didn’t know if it were consensual or not. He wasn’t about to accuse him though, he stood protectively by his sister’s side.

“James Moncourier, at your service, My Lady.” He bowed to Victoria politely. He was a man of very good manners. Diana and Jean Claude watched their children unite from a distance. She felt bad for having to keep James a secret from her. But it was at Jean-Claude’s command and Alexander thought it best to keep it from Victoria to prevent her from seeking him out and further endangering her. Jean-Claude would not take kindly to a pure human in his clan. James was the result of an experiment to see if a half vampire could take the best of both races and be stronger than both. Pure vampires would always cast him out as his human side would be claimed as weak. 

“James…Moncourier?” Victoria asked with a tilted head. She glanced to Vail and tightened her hand around his. “My…brother?” She teared over as she glanced over James’s shoulder to her mother. “Why wasn’t I told about you?” She asked, visibly upset and hurt by this.

“I wasn’t told about you either until mother wrote to us in a plea for help against the Wynters. All my life I had been told my mother had died giving birth to me. I know now why my father lied. He didn’t want me to seek either of you out….it was safer that way, for all of us. But I’m here now in your hour of need. Because that is what family does. They stick together and fight together. Your fight is my fight.” He clenched his fist in the air. “I will make Spencer pay for what he’s put you through…” He gritted his teeth, growled and bared his fangs. He then looked at Vail. “And who is your protector? Diana did not mention you.” He asked Vail directly.