You're Mine!

I woke up to a continued gentle knocking on the door, which caused Osirus’ arm to tighten around my waist the moment I opened my eyes.

“No!” he growled, just like he had been doing the entire night since he caught me trying to sneak out to spend the night with Jonas.

“You can’t keep me hostage, Ris!” I whispered angrily as I tried to remove his arm from around my waist.

“Wanna bet!”

“What is your problem?” I grumbled, giving up on trying to escape.

“I don’t like him, Tawnie! How many times do I have to tell you that? He is bad news, and you’re my best friend. I would really like it if you just rejected him and moved on. You can have a second chance mate. One that I won’t want to kill for even looking in your direction. Don’t you want that?” he asked, as if it made sense, which only served to make me narrow my eyes at him.

“Is this because I found my mate and you didn’t? Or is it because you were hoping that, after this search, I would become your chosen mate?!” I couldn’t help but snarl at him.

His face immediately hardened as he let me go and got up. “If that’s what you think, then go on! But when he hurts you, don’t come crying to me! I tried to warn you about him! If you are so blinded by the mate bond that you can’t feel his evilness, then that’s on you! I don’t give a fuck if you are my chosen mate or not!” he hissed. “You matter to me more than just the average subject! We have been friends for almost twenty years, and we have grown close in our search for our mates, but don’t even start to get it twisted—me wanting to protect you from him has nothing to do with wanting you to be my mate. When he screws you over—and yes, I said when, not if, because I know it’s coming—I’ll still be here. I’ll still be in your corner.”

“Thought you said not to come crying to you,” I spat.

“You’re right. I did, because I am pissed off right now, but I would never turn you away because I was angry. You know it. I know it.”

“And when this works out, and Jonas and I walk off into the sunset, holding hands, you won’t be invited to the mating ceremony!” I told him angrily, making him instantly stiffen.

“Then so be it, Tawnie! But I can promise you that you will never have a mating ceremony!” He stormed past me, throwing the door open so hard that he almost tore it off the hinges before stomping out of the cabin. “She’s all yours!”

Jonas watched him walk away before turning his attention to me. “Trouble in paradise?”

“No,” I mumbled. “We’re fine.”

“That’s not how it sounded from out here,” he told me softly, making me raise an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t listen to my conversations with him,” I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

“Sorry. I can’t help but overhear. We are vampires, remember?”

“Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it! Just try not to, okay?” I requested.

“Alright.”

My eyes dropped to the almost crushed flowers in his hand as I asked shyly, “Are those for me?”

“What? Oh, yes! When I went on my walk this morning, I saw them, and they instantly made me miss you,” he murmured as he held them out for me to take. “They reminded me of you.”

“They did? How?” I inquired as I took the roses from him.

“They were beautiful, just like you.”

“Aaaawwwww! Thank you!” I gushed.

I turned away from him in the hopes of finding something I could use for a vase, but when I couldn’t, I filled the sink with a few inches of water before gently placing the flowers in it until I could get my hands on an actual vase. When I walked back out, I cleared my throat, making Jonas leap away from my bed.

“Do you sleep with the prince?” he asked, seemingly nonchalantly, but his voice held a hardness that amused me.

“I did last night,” I laughed. “But don’t worry! He was only trying to keep me from sneaking out to sleep with you in your tent.”

“Oh. He really doesn’t like me, does he?”

“Eh. He’ll get over it. One day, he’ll find his mate, and he’ll understand why I feel the way I do about you. So, anyway, what do you want to do today?” I inquired excitedly.

“I don’t know. What is there to do? This is my first search in a long time,” he answered.

“Well, on day two, Osirus and I usually lead some activities for everyone, but he doesn’t really need my help. We can go explore the woods if you want!”

“No, if you usually help Osirus, you should do that. I’ll sit back and learn about you while you do it,” he replied.

“You don’t want to participate?” I uttered, completely shocked.

“I don’t see the point if I already know who my mate is. Those activities are meant to help you find your mate, right?” He tossed his response back at me.

“No! They’re meant to help you learn about and bond with your mate as much as they allow people to try to locate them,” I informed him, making him grimace before smiling brightly at me.

“Alright. I’ll participate. What’s the first activity?”

“Well, on day two, we usually do a small hunt. It’s a contest to see who can gather the most kills using their talents! Osirus and I usually judge, but if you’re going to participate, so will I!”

“Alright. Come on.”

I took the hand he offered me before walking out, proud to be at his side, which I could tell instantly made Osirus furious. I squeezed Jonas’s hand before moving to Osirus’ side as he called everyone to order.

“Our first game is to see how many kills you can obtain in half an hour, only using your Goddess-given abilities. We will hunt in teams of ten. The winner will get their choice of a date partner for tonight. The date will be at any restaurant in the area and paid for by my father. Now, who wants to be in the first group?” he asked.

I thrust my hand confidently into the air. “I want to go.”

He narrowed his eyes on me before clenching his jaw tightly. “Alright, you ten will be first,” he said, gesturing to me and nine others. “You make a kill and bring it back here. If you don’t bring it back here, it won’t count toward your kills. And there will be no stealing from each other or hurting each other in the forest. On your marks, get set, and GO!”

I shot off into the woods, using my vampire speed to immediately catch a rabbit, biting into its neck to kill it before taking it to lie in front of Osirus, earning myself a low growl, which I ignored. I kept zipping in and out of the woods, silently congratulating myself as I watched my pile steadily grow. Rabbits, mice, and woodpeckers, the fuckers, were my main focus. I loved squirrels and chipmunks too much to end their lives. When Osirus finally called our time to a stop, I stood beaming as he counted everyone’s piles before throwing my fist in the air when he announced that I had the most at 172 kills. After the chefs cleared our kills out of the way to use for meals later on, Osirus prepared the next team, sending them into the forest.

Over the next several hours, three more teams went into the forest to complete their turns before the last team was formed with Osirus joining them. When it first started, I was a little anxious, but when Osirus hadn’t brought me any kills, I relaxed. I knew he was going to try to win to keep me from going on a date with Jonas. I knew he was only trying to protect me, but from what, I wasn’t sure. Jonas seemed like a great guy. For Goddess’ sake, he brought me flowers! Surely that meant he cared, right? Bad men didn’t waste their time with flowers.

At minute 20, Osirus made his first appearance, smirking at me as he brought a fox to lie at my feet, making me swallow hard as he held my gaze for a moment before dashing off into the trees, only to come back seconds later with a lifeless snake gripped in his hands. He tossed it at my feet, dashed back into the trees, and sprinted back moments later. I cursed silently as his pile rapidly grew until it was almost as tall as I was, and was toppling over. I swallowed hard as we counted everyone’s kills, getting more nervous the closer we got to 172. My heart sank when he hit 172, realizing there was only one more kill left in his pile to be counted.

“I choose Tawnie!” he announced, making me glare at him silently as he wrapped his fingers around my wrist. “You’re mine tonight.”

I pulled my hand away from his to stomp to our cabin to sulk, turning away from him and pulling the blankets up over my head when he walked inside. He sat beside me on the bed with his hand on my hip, sighing deeply.

“I know you don’t see it right now, Tawnie, but I really am only trying to protect you. One day, I hope you will forgive me for what I may have to do to ensure your safety and well-being, but I won’t apologize for loving you enough to care about your mate’s true intentions.”