NICHOLAS

Once they were out of the dungeon and in the pristine halls of the castle, Nicholas let go of Henry's hand and took in their lush surrounding. Daniel wasn't aware that they weren't ghosts. Nicholas knew he was only the memory of the real man. He felt real. Felt like the real Nicholas, but that man's soul was alive and well living inside of Daniel Bellerose. Nicholas's great great grandson? He was confused. Glancing at Henry, he wanted to gauge his state, if he was freaking out too. Henry's eyes explored the halls, his eyes climbing from the floor to their high ceilings. His translucent hand reached for a portrait of Nicholas's granddaughter.

"This wouldn't have been our home," Nicholas said, dragging Henry out of his daze.

"But..." Henry shook his head. "You were going to come here, right?"

Nicholas stood in front of Henry, blocking the rest of the world away. He wanted to be the only thing at the end of Henry's focus. "That day, five hundred years ago, the Nicholas you knew, the Nicholas you loved died in the snow. I wasn't the same without the memory of you. Did you think you were saving me? By taking yourself out of my life forever."

"I didn't want to continue messing up your life. I wanted to give you a second chance!"

"This is our second chance!" Nicholas took Henry's hands and held them firm. "Daniel and Blake, they are our second chance."

Henry searched Nicholas's face and the longer he looked, the more his expression twisted and his eyes sparkled with tears. His blue eyes as vibrant as a clear summer sky. "I want this. I want to be with you. I'm tired of being apart."

"And we will," Nicholas said and pulled Henry into his chest. He squeezed him hard, thankful that they could at least touch. "But we're going to lose it if we can't find a way to help Daniel."

"Then, let's go. What did you have in mind?"

Nicholas grinned.

#

Eventually, Nicholas and Henry found Damien Winslow sitting on a velvet tufted bench in a sitting room away from the rest of the action. The whole castle hummed with energy, a manic anxiety making everyone hurry a little faster. Not here. Damien was sobbing into a pink silk handkerchief given to him by Josephine Bellerose. She sat on the floor criss-cross and looked up at him fondly.

"You know, it's very attractive for a man to be honest with his feelings." She sat her hand on his leg. Her emerald gown clung to her arms and torso like a second skin but spilled off her hips like liquid gold. She shimmered, covered in crystals and her black hair was slicked over her head and forehead, held at her neck by a low ponytail. Something in her hair made it sparkle too.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed."

Damien blew into her hanky and huffed. He revealed a sticky pink face that didn't look right with his classic black tuxedo. "I just don't want to hear the teasing."

Josephine chuckled.

Nicholas looked to Henry. "I'll take mine, if you take yours."

Henry nodded.

Together, Nicholas and Henry stalked into the room. Nicholas thanked Josephine for her help before jumping into her body. He slipped into her form like a well-worn glove. He had to make slight adjustments, fidgeting into all her nooks and crannies, stretching out his fingers and wiggling his toes until he found comfort, even in her heels. Nicholas did a little spin in Josephine's dress and laughed. "I like this. This is fun."

"Certainly interesting," Henry said from Damien's mouth. He smiled softly, getting rid of the rest of his tears. He chuckled as he met Nicholas's eyes. "Like this, you're the one who has to look up at me."

Nicholas smiled, itching to lean up on these heels and test out the fruity gloss on Josephine's lips, but he held back. This wasn't his body and it didn't seem fair without her consent. Instead, Nicholas innocently took Henry's hand. "Let's go save ourselves."

Henry squeezed back and nodded with a determined look in his eyes that Nicholas was relieved to see. He was finally ready to fight.

#

DANIEL

Again, Daniel woke up wondering if he was even really awake. Or was he hallucinating Josephine and Damien running around the other side of his prison cell?

Things were coming and going in flashes. Josephine and Damien together for whatever reason bickering about how to get Daniel out of the dungeon. Josephine's easy _ vanished alongside Damien's confidence. He heard their voices. A bang. A crash and a lot of cursing. But finally, someone's warm hand found Daniel's face.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay," Damien insisted. "It's Henry and Nicholas."

"What?" Daniel furrowed his brow. His mind felt like it was floating and if he couldn't find stable ground, he'd float away.

"Can you use Damien's magic?" Josephine asked, or Nicholas did. Daniel's head was spinning. He had never been under laughing gas. Never needed surgery of any kind, but he imagined this nauseating upside down feeling like he was both awake and asleep was a lot like getting drugged up.

"Maybe..." Henry said, coming closer and Daniel savor his heat. It had been days since he felt any warmth. Reminded him he was alive. Henry whispered. "I can feel it, I think. Um..."

Daniel momentarily lost consciousness when he heard the break of chains and Henry's sigh of relief from Damien's mouth. Together, Daniel supposed Henry and Nicholas carried him outside and up the stone steps. Anyone outside of the family didn't know about the passageways or even this dungeon. Once during an interview, Daniel's father told the press that there was nothing below the castle but rubble and earth. They've lied for years that during a previous renovation these medieval rooms had been destroyed.

The tunnels opened up behind a line of bookshelves on the third floor. It was a less used hallway with room always busy collecting dust. The coast was clear, but Henry and Nicholas hesitated. His tiny bit of relief was enough to put him back to sleep, until his head hit something metallic and hard.

"Sorry, sorry," Nicholas blurted as the new pain in the back of his head woke Daniel back up. Glancing around his new space, Daniel saw several linens and the walls of a laundry cart. "I'm not sure what we should worry about first," Nicholas told Henry, both of them not realizing Daniel was awake. "The knife wound in his chest or his hunger."

"If we curb his hunger, Daniel will be able to heal himself faster. Maybe Damien has some sort of healing potion or salve in his room—?"

"The kitchen," Daniel grunted, and their heads popped over the metal edges. "Take me to the kitchen. There's someone there that we can trust."

Neither ghost questioned him. Off to the races, Henry took over and rushed the laundry cart through the halls, ignoring anyone trying to catch his attention. Nicholas lagged slightly behind in his heels, when something finally dawned on him, and he caught back up.

"Sorry," he said. "Forgot I was a vampire."

By the time they arrived, Daniel could hear mutterings about hurrying and that they were going to be late. People were shouting about the wedding cake being missing and how the place of the reception had changed last second. Maybe because he was delirious Daniel didn't remember anything about the reception changing location.

Daniel reached up from the bottom of the cart and grabbed Nicholas's sparkling arm. "Get rid of everybody else but tell Wesley Collins to stay. He's the head chef..." With an amused smirk, Daniel told Nicholas. "And remember, you're a Lady."

Nicholas curtsied and disappeared. A few moments later, the other cooks and people from the catering company flooded outside. Henry threw towels across Daniel's body to hide him as Henry gave out politely sweet goodbyes, too quiet to be something believable from Damien. Not much had passed down from Henry to the rest of the Winslow's.

"Coast is clear!" Nicholas shouted and Daniel cringed, thinking this was definitely going to get them caught and Daniel dead. Henry pushed the cart into the kitchen with Daniel immediately attempting to pull himself up and out. He almost fell, thankfully caught inside Henry's arms.

Damien's smell was there. That fresh herbal smell the Winslow's carried. His heart ached for Blake worse than ever.

"Your highness!" Wesley gawked because what else was he supposed to say when he saw the prince of his coven on the verge of death. Daniel could only imagine the nightmare he looked like based on the look of horror on Wesley's face. Nicholas and Henry had been hiding it well.

Wesley Collins was a beast of a man, a ginger werewolf with enough arm hair to make a wolf pup. He had a barreled chest and a squared jaw while the little freckles littering his pinkened skin was boyish.

With his meaty hand, Wesley grabbed fistfuls of his tuffy in all directions copper hair. His vibrant green eyes were widening to the point of them popping out. "I just..." He had to reach for the words. "I just saw you—and you weren't—you were fine." He held his hand out, his American accent cracking. "I don't know who to call—Michael. I'll call Michael!"

"Wait, wait," Daniel begged, using Nicholas keep upright. "This isn't going to make any sense and I honestly don't deserve your help at all. Honestly, I didn't remember you existed until a few weeks back. Even though I know we've been introduced...."

Wesley softened. Some of his apprehension was pushed away to make room for his curiosity. Daniel told him, "But I need your help and I'll forever be in your debt. The Daniel you saw today wasn't me. It wasn't the real me. He's a man named Edward that's trying to marry Blake and take everything away from me."

"I'm not sure how much Michael has told you but—" Now that Daniel was talking, it was hard for him to stop. His desperation loosened his lips. He needed Wesley to believe him and to understand. After all this mess, Daniel was going to be as clear as possible with everyone. Especially Blake. "But Blake and I had an arranged marriage to finish a deal with a demon. Not that Michael knew that part, but I'll tell him all about it. I should've told him about it. Whoever marries Blake by the end of today will gain a power like nothing else and it can't fall into Edward's hands."

"Your majesty, your majesty, please..." Wesley raised his hands. "When did this Edward guy replace you?"

"Since the Gala."

Wesley nodded, thoughtfully. "I believe you. What do you need?"

"Blood," Daniel said, and the relief tasted sweet. "It's been too long since I've fed, and I can't heal."

With a nod, Wesley turned for one of the three fridges in the kitchen. "I know you're the real prince and the other one is a fake because last month, my mate thought about quitting and finding a new job. He felt over worked and underappreciated...." There was a walk-in freezer too, but the door Wesley opened revealed shelves of blood bags and Daniel salivated at the sight. "But a few weeks ago, my mate's been having more good days. He's been smiling more and actually enjoyed going to work."

He handed Daniel a clear medical bag and Daniel sucked it up, squeezing the blood into his mouth and letting it fill his stomach. It wasn't enough. He'd want more and Wesley knew that, turning to grab another. He continued, "Until the Gala. After the Gala, my mate has been miserable. Before, even when work was hard, he hesitated to abandon you. These last few days were different... If it wasn't for Blake, we might've been on a boat back to the states by now."

"I'm thankful you're not," Daniel huffed, eating too fast, but he couldn't help it. He could feel his strength returning with every sip.

"Me too."

"You can't tell anyone about this. I'm not sure how much danger you're in knowing as much as you do."

"But do you have a plan?" Wesley rubbed his jaw, the worry clear on his face. In this moment, Daniel could see the way Wesley was Michael's matching puzzle piece. Michael usually lacked warmth and expression, but he married a man that expressed himself like an open book and as big and warm like a ginger teddy bear. "How are you getting to the wedding?"

Daniel glanced at Henry and Nicholas who had obviously not thought that far ahead. With a small smile, Wesley grabbed a cooler and stuffed it with more blood bags. "Leave the transport to me. Josephine?" Wesley asked, questioning himself because Daniel's cousin was obviously not acting like herself. "Grab the first aid-kit. There's plenty in there that can speed the healing process along."

"And the venue?" Henry asked.

"Leave that to me." Wesley grinned.

With a nod, Daniel closed his eyes and focused all his magic and will-power to the wound in his chest. Daniel knew better. He should be taking things slow. Wounds like this should take days, or at least hours to close, but Daniel didn't have that time. He didn't care about the scar that would be left behind. The world judged vampires with imperfections like that and yet, Daniel couldn't care less.

Blake was waiting for him.

#

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey friends! Oh my gosh!! We got so many things this chapter! We got a Nicholas POV and we finally met Wesley! He's my giant ginger werewolf. Can you tell that I like the whole opposites attract thing? Lol. 

Now let's go get married!

Don't forget to comment with what you think!