![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/taibhrigh_banner-SylumTeaserSnippets2.jpg?resize=500%2C208&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And the third one!!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was the call they had both dreaded.<\/span><\/p>\n David was sound asleep, but Joshua had been anxious for most of the morning.\u00a0 \u00a0It had started the day before, but he had kept quiet about it, not wanting to disturb David while he worked.\u00a0 \u00a0When it wouldn’t go away, he sent a few text messages out to the contacts they had regarding Paul’s job.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Both messages stood on Delivered.<\/span><\/p>\n Paul kept a low level block on their Bond while he worked, which they completely understood.\u00a0 \u00a0David also kept a block on his side, for the same reasons.\u00a0 \u00a0So there were times that Joshua was the middle man when it came to feeling both Mates.<\/span><\/p>\n His phone buzzing startled him awake, looking around he fell asleep in the oversize chair.\u00a0 \u00a0It was an international number, one he didn’t recognize, he answered it anyway as he knew if Paul had to get a hold of them, it wasn’t always going to be from a familiar number.\u00a0 “Hello.”<\/span><\/p>\n “This is Joshua?”\u00a0 The male speaking had an Indian accent, though is English was almost perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n “Yes, who is this?” He kept his voice low, not wanting to wake David up quite yet.<\/span><\/p>\n “Simon Masrani.”\u00a0 Joshua wasn’t sure if one of the richest men in the world was looking for a good time or what.<\/span><\/p>\n “How can I help you?”\u00a0 He asked, not sure he wanted an answer.<\/span><\/p>\n “Your Mate, Paul …”<\/span><\/p>\n Joshua sat up in his chair.\u00a0 “What about him!?”\u00a0 He barely registered that David woke up from his outburst.<\/span><\/p>\n “He’s here, along with his brothers.”\u00a0 Simon informed him.\u00a0 “I do not know what fully happened, but all three are safe in my home.\u00a0 \u00a0I’ve contacted M, who is on her way.\u00a0 \u00a0Since I couldn’t access their phones, M gave me your phone number along with Yev’s.\u00a0 \u00a0He’s recovering, but I’ve always found that a person heals better with their loved ones nearby.”<\/span><\/p>\n Joshua took a deep breath calming his nerves.\u00a0 “I hadn’t realized you were a Chosen One.”<\/span><\/p>\n There was a deep laugh.\u00a0 “I’m older than dirt!\u00a0 I run the India side of Sanguen for Alexander.\u00a0 \u00a0Hence if anything happens in India I know about.\u00a0 Being the the 8th richest man in the world, just makes it easier to get past the bureaucracy.\u00a0 Let me know flights, and I’ll have my people waiting.\u00a0 \u00a0Can I text to this number?\u00a0 I’ll keep you updated.”<\/span><\/p>\n “Yes, please.\u00a0 Are you sure he’s alright? He’s safe?”\u00a0 Joshua asked as he stood, noticing David was already grabbing their to go bags.\u00a0 Something neither had before Paul entered their lives.\u00a0 \u00a0He watched as he pulled set aside the fake passports, along with the cards and papers that went with them.<\/span><\/p>\n “He’s got some viscous bodyguards.”\u00a0 Simon chuckled.\u00a0 “I like Paul, have met him on occasion tried to recruit him to my Clan.\u00a0 \u00a0So no worries on his safety.\u00a0 He’s been checked over by my doctors, fed and is resting.\u00a0 \u00a0So far I’m the only one who can step into the room, his guards won’t let anyone else in.”<\/span><\/p>\n “Guards?”\u00a0 Joshua grabbed their actual passports out of the safe, noticing David had slipped out of the room to let his second know to take over the House.<\/span><\/p>\n “Oh yes.\u00a0 I’ll send a picture.”\u00a0 He could hear the humor in Simon’s voice, some of the anxiety settled.\u00a0 “Keep me posted on travel time, I’ll have one of mine meet you at the airport.”<\/span><\/p>\n “I can text you at this number?”\u00a0 Joshua asked, zipping up the last of the bags, ready to grab and go.<\/span><\/p>\n “Yes.\u00a0 This is my private mobile.”\u00a0 Simon paused and talked to someone off to the side, but Joshua couldn’t understand what was being said.\u00a0 “I’ve got to go, we’ll wait for your arrival.”<\/span><\/p>\n “Thank you.”\u00a0 He hung up the phone, grabbed the bag just as David stepped back into the room, giving him a nod.\u00a0 \u00a0“He’s fine, but obviously something happened.”<\/span><\/p>\n “So now that the first ‘phone call’ happened do you think it will get easier?”\u00a0 He asked, sliding into Joshua’s arms holding tightly for a moment.<\/span><\/p>\n “I’m going to say no.”\u00a0 Joshua kissed the top of his head, chuckling slightly hysterical.\u00a0 “Let’s go.\u00a0 We’ll get a flight on the way.”<\/span><\/p>\n They were on a flight to Dehli with in four hours.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/span><\/p>\n Simon had sent Carl to go pick up his guests.\u00a0 “Be nice.”<\/span><\/p>\n Carl looked at him with a grin.\u00a0 “I’m always nice.”<\/span><\/p>\n The engineer was a bit shocked at the contrast of the two Mates, but then if anyone looked at his Mate, they would wonder how the hell they ended up together.\u00a0 “I’m Carl Cox, Simon sent me.”<\/span><\/p>\n David gave him a smile, held out his hand.\u00a0 “Thank you for the ride.\u00a0 I’m not sure I know what time it is or where am I at.”<\/span><\/p>\n Joshua grinned.\u00a0 “Nice to hear an American accent.”<\/span><\/p>\n Carl chuckled.\u00a0 “Don’t get fellow country men out here often.\u00a0 \u00a0Car is this way, and I can give you some detail while we head out of the city.\u00a0 \u00a0Ahsoka’s home is a bit of drive, but worth being out of the city, and also stands as our Clan home.”<\/span><\/p>\n “I had no idea there was a small Clan in India.”\u00a0 Joshua commented as they drove out of the city into the countryside.\u00a0 He actually had never been to India, so this was a new experience.<\/span><\/p>\n “We’re still under Sanguan.\u00a0 Simon has tried many times to make it official but something always got in the way, so we all figured it was just best to keep thing as they are.\u00a0 Alexander is used to sections of his Clan running themselves.”<\/span><\/p>\n “Simon mentioned Paul had guards?”\u00a0 David asked, focusing away from the countryside and onto Carl.<\/span><\/p>\n “Oh yes.\u00a0 Hopefully they’ll let you through.”\u00a0 Carl left it at that, and was quiet for the rest of the trip.<\/span><\/p>\n A few hours later, they passed through a secured gate, and up a long driveway.\u00a0 \u00a0The home was beautiful, something out of Bollywood, yet didn’t feel lavish or pretentious, it felt like a home.\u00a0 \u00a0Surrounding the areas were wild animals, birds, and reptiles.\u00a0 \u00a0It felt like an animal sanctuary mixed in with a Clan of Vampires.<\/span><\/p>\n Simon was waiting for them at the curve of the driveway.\u00a0 \u00a0Once they stopped he actually opened the door to let them out.\u00a0 “Welcome to India.\u00a0 Follow me.”<\/span><\/p>\n They followed him around the main house, and towards the back where they looked to be bungalows.\u00a0 Joshua picked up armed guards at various locations, but a feeling that those weren’t the guards they had been told about.\u00a0 There were about five bungalows huddled together, with a small fence enclosing them in.\u00a0 “M, is already here, she’s up at the house resting.\u00a0 Yev will get in a few hours from now.”\u00a0 \u00a0He walked them over to the third bungalow from left.\u00a0 “Paul is resting here.\u00a0 Be careful of his guards.”<\/span><\/p>\n David and Joshua stepped up onto the small porch, opened the door, and froze.<\/span><\/p>\n Paul was a sleep on the large bed, they could see bandages across his chest, arms and one of his legs.\u00a0 \u00a0He looked like he’d been tortured and left for dead.<\/span><\/p>\n But what caught their attention was two Komodo Dragons on either side of the bed, staring them down.<\/span><\/p>\n “Arthur, Gwen stand down.”\u00a0 Paul’s voice was tired, but the two guards gave both Mates a last glare before wandering off to the side.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They took the opportunity, making their way to the bed.\u00a0 \u00a0“Hey.”\u00a0 David gently sat down, while Joshua squatted next to the bed.\u00a0 “We’re here.”<\/span><\/p>\n “I’m tired, still in pain, and just pissed off.”\u00a0 Paul opened his eyes enough to look at his Mates.\u00a0 “Please just lay in bed next to me.\u00a0 I … “<\/span><\/p>\n They knew him asking that was a lot, neither hesitated, stripped down and crawled into the bed keeping Paul between them.\u00a0 “Just rest, we’ll be here when you wake.”\u00a0 David leaned over and kissed his forehead, while Joshua ran a hand through his hair soothing him.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “I have to ask, but you only have to answer if you’re up for it.\u00a0 Why did you name them after our Clan Leaders.”\u00a0 Joshua wasn’t going to ask where he got them.\u00a0 \u00a0Komodo Dragons were dangerous and endangered.\u00a0 They still needed to get Paul up to Mod, but had been putting it off.\u00a0 After the two deadly guards, the trip will need to happen sooner rather than later.<\/span><\/p>\n “They are cute, adorable and deadly as fuck.”\u00a0 Paul muttered as he fell back to sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n David held his hand, giving Joshua a small smile.\u00a0 “I won’t tell them if you don’t.”<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" And the third one!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[975,66],"tags":[50,849],"class_list":["post-19475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-snippets","category-sylum-stories","tag-bj-jones","tag-sylum-snippets"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Da1M-547","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21149,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/throwback-thursday-dreaded-phone-call-snippet\/","url_meta":{"origin":19475,"position":0},"title":"Throwback Thursday: Dreaded Phone Call (Snippet)","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"July 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Link to Snippet","rel":"","context":"In "Snippets"","block_context":{"text":"Snippets","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/sylum-stories\/snippets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bar-banner_ThrowbackThursday.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23618,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/cowboy-day-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":19475,"position":1},"title":"Cowboy Day","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"July 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It's Cowboy Day! I guess y'all can get out the hat and gear up for a horseback ride :) With that comes a Sylum Snippet Paul sat down on the log and stared at the open fire.\u00a0 \u00a0They had rode for most of the day, only stopping to set up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National Day"","block_context":{"text":"National Day","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/national-day\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cowboy-hero-H-800x261.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cowboy-hero-H-800x261.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cowboy-hero-H-800x261.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cowboy-hero-H-800x261.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11917,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/national-reptile-awareness-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":19475,"position":2},"title":"National Reptile Awareness Day","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"October 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"National Reptile Awareness Month! Yes it's a thing. Godzilla. Reptar. Yoshi. The Geico Gecko. These are just a few of the famous reptiles we love. But on October 21 it\u2019s National Reptile Awareness Day, a day we celebrate the most cold-blooded of our slithering friends. 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So here's a snippet!\u00a0 I went over my long list of snippets people wanted to see and snagged a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Snippets"","block_context":{"text":"Snippets","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/sylum-stories\/snippets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/taibhrigh_banner-SylumTeaserSnippets2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18554,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/sylum-inspiration-daryl-dixon\/","url_meta":{"origin":19475,"position":4},"title":"Sylum Inspiration: Daryl Dixon","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"August 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Sylum: Hunter Daryl was raised by his father and brother in the back hills of Georgia. \u00a0His mother died when he was five, and all he remembers was that her name was Lily. He doesn't talk much about his childhood, when asked he will tell you the day he met\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Character Introduction"","block_context":{"text":"Character Introduction","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/character-introduction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sylum_dixon-daryl-without-name.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24723,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/sylum-inspiration-daryl-dixon-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":19475,"position":5},"title":"Sylum Inspiration: Daryl Dixon","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"April 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Sylum: Hunter \u00a0 Daryl was raised by his father and brother in the back hills of Georgia. \u00a0His mother died when he was five, and all he remembers was that her name was Lily. He doesn\u2019t talk much about his childhood, when asked he will tell you the day he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Character Introduction"","block_context":{"text":"Character Introduction","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/character-introduction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sylum_dixon-daryl-without-name.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/why-we-must-reassess-t.jpeg?resize=754%2C455&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n