LOGINThe man was trembling like a leaf, and I wasn’t sure whether it was from the wound or because he was scared. I could smell the sweet scent of his fear.It was the only warning we had before he jerked awake and started lashing out. It was the same fear Vesper had carried with him after his attack.Entering the bathroom, I guided him over to the toilet and lowered the seat. Once I was sure that he would remain seated, I turned and walked over to the shower. It had been renovated a year after we moved in to accommodate all of us.The shower was big enough to easily accommodate three people, and the bathtub could seat four, maybe five if we made it a tight squeeze.“How do you like your water?” I asked him. “Cold, lukewarm, or like Talia, scalding hot?”“I don’t mind,” he said softly.Pursing my lips, I decided to meet him in the middle. Once the water was ready, I pulled a clean towel out from the corner closet and placed it within close reach. Then it was the hard part. I turned to face
“I met your mate today.” His lips curled into a nasty smile. “She’s a pretty little thing. Small and shy.”I snarled at him.“Too bad, she’s already taken,” someone else commented.He chuckled. “I’ve never had a thing for pregnant women but…” The sentence was left hanging in the air.“If you fucking touch her, I will kill you!” My words only made him laugh harder.I thrashed, trying my best to free myself from the chains holding me prisoner. “I did what you wanted!” I yelled. “You got what you wanted, now let her go!”Instead of answering, he walked over to the door and pulled it open. A few minutes later, two of his men entered, and one of them was dragging someone behind him.Dread flooded me when he dropped the body a few feet away. I took in my mate’s unconscious form and then focused on her bruised face.“You said you weren’t going to fucking hurt her,” I snarled, jerking on the chains again.“I said a lot of things, and you were stupid enough to believe me.” Stopping behind her,
As I suspected, his fever hit two hours after the wound had been cleaned and bandaged. He lost so much blood that we had to do a blood transfusion, and Seth was the only match.Everything that was currently happening was making my alpha uncomfortable, but I was happy that instead of storming off, he decided to stay and help, even if it was just to keep a close eye on the stranger.Dropping the cloth into the bowl of water, I leaned back slightly to stretch and then stood and grabbed the bowl to empty it. But just as I straightened, a hand shot out and clawed fingers dug into the skin of my wrist.Vesper was at my side instantly, hand wrapping around the man’s wrist and squeezing. A whimper fell from his lips as his hold slowly loosened.Golden cat eyes locked with mine, knocking the air from my lungs. I had no time to make sense of things because an arm was wrapped around my waist and someone was pulling me away from him.Wilder appeared at my side, fingers wrapping around my arm, and
Vesper glared at me before he stormed away. The bedroom door clicked shut softly behind him, making my lips twitch. I knew how badly he wanted to slam it shut behind him, but he was being considerate of the others sleeping.Pulling on a pair of sweats, I made my way into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea.Through the bond, I could sense Talia’s restlessness. Her sleep was being disturbed by the cat lounging in the tree not far from us. I should go back there and kick him out of the tree and then drive him out of town to make sure that he left.But then I remembered Seth’s retelling of what happened in the bar, and I hesitated. Despite being young, Talia had a good head on her shoulders, and she had learned to trust her instincts. It was how we ended up in our current situation.Her with four mates, three bonded and one almost bonded. We needed to figure out if Vampires could form bonds like other shifters, which was what Wilder had been working on the last week.I poured hot wat
The apartment was dark and deadly silent.I could hear the steady heartbeat of my pack mates as they slept. In a few hours the sun would rise, and the same routine would start over again. Weekends were always the same, from Friday through to Sunday.Not that it mattered.During the day I was stuck inside, and at night I was stuck either in the apartment or the bar unless one of them was with me. I’d gotten my bloodlust mostly under control.The scent of blood didn’t bother me as much as it used to a few months ago. Or so I thought.Something sweet was calling to me. I could almost taste the warm liquid on my tongue, which was why I snuck out in search of it. It was only when I was outside, and being blasted by the cold wind, that I realized what I was doing.My stomach twisted with nerves and an emotion close to fear.The last time I had blacked out, I’d accidentally ended up killing someone. I was still haunted by the memories. Knox had made it clear that what happened had been an ac
I noticed him the moment he entered the bar. It was hard not to.The man was a stranger, and that was a rarity in our small town when it wasn’t tourist season. Usually, we only dealt with tourists passing through during the holiday seasons.But the man didn’t look like a tourist.“I got it.”My eyes followed him through the crowd to the darkest corner where he took a seat. Exchanging the dry glass for a wet one, I watched my mate as he made his way towards him.The man muttered something without looking up.Seth lingered by the table for a second more before he spun around and walked away, frowning.Fingers brushed down my arm as my second mate joined me. “Are you going to make us fight tonight, sweetheart?”I glared at him. “I never make you fight. You decide to do that all on your own.”He smirked.“Hell,” Seth hissed. “Hadn’t taken a bath in weeks by the smell of him.”Knox scoffed. “Most of our customers don’t do that bathing thing.”“What did he order?” I asked before they could







