Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
LOCHLAN
The three of us lie cuddled together in my bed, talking about less traumatic topics for a while and basking in the glow of everything that’s happened this morning. Or is it afternoon? Time is weird in the underworld.
I nuzzle my cheek against the petal-soft skin of Jare’s shoulder the same way I’ve seen Roman do a dozen times.
I’m not sure it works the same way since I’m not a wolf, but it feels nice anyway.
I can hear the steady whooshing of his blood through his body, and the predatory part of me longs to sink my fangs into the thick, pulsing vein in his throat.
It’s surprisingly easy to resist the urge though, even knowing that drinking from him would ease this damned hangover.
I’ll never take what Jareth isn’t offering me.
I’ll never hurt him or make him feel afraid of me.
I wouldn’t have anyway, but after hearing his story, I promise myself that I would rather die than ever let him see me as one of those vampires who hurt him.
Roman lies on his other side, his arm stretched across Jare’s body so his hand can rest on my bare stomach, keeping us both close. Jareth’s stomach wheezes and gurgles quietly, and Roman must hear it too.
“I can’t believe I’ve let you go so long without eating.
” He kisses Jare’s other shoulder and our mate’s scent takes on a warm, contented note.
Happiness. I think the scent is happiness.
I didn’t know it had a scent before, but I’m going to remember it so I can make them both smell that way as often as possible.
“There’s food here. Freaky shadow demons fill the table with whatever you want,” I tell him, and Jare laughs.
“That sounds… like an experience.”
“You’ll like it,” Roman promises him.
“Should we shower first?” There are still a few rogue streaks of Roman’s cum on my skin, and I know all three of us smell like sex.
And not “want to have sex,” but “already fucked,” which is the distinction he was trying to teach me the other day.
He could have just given me a demonstration—I’m kind of a slow learner.
Roman growls. Not a human growl, but a proper wolfish sound that rumbles in his throat, his eyes flashing that glowing yellow again.
“No, I like that you both smell like you’re mine.”
“Oh, gods, what have I agreed to? You’re going to force us both to walk around with your cum smeared all over us all the time, aren’t you?” Jare teases, and Roman growls again.
“Don’t give him ideas.” I laugh.
We all drag ourselves out of bed and pull our clothes back on. My head is still throbbing and my stomach is queasy, and I wonder how long this hangover is supposed to last.
JARETH
Now that I’m not completely panicked about Loch’s safety—his immediate safety, anyway—I’m able to enjoy the interesting architecture and decor of the compound as Roman leads us to the dining room.
“What time is it, even?” I ask. “How do we know a meal is being served right now?”
“Time is weird down here,” Roman says. “But food’s always available. The ‘freaky shadow demons’ as Loch referred to them, are basically on call to summon whatever you want to eat, whenever you want to eat it.”
“Wow, that’s pretty cool.” I guess I could get used to food on demand that I don’t have to cook myself. That thought almost stops me in my tracks.
Do I have to get used to it? Obviously, I’m glad that we’re down here now where Loch is safe from the army of fae who want him dead for killing their mafia prince, but what about once that’s settled?
Is Roman allowed to live in the human realm or is it part of his contract that he has to stay here?
What about my garden? What about drinking tea under the full moon?
“What’s wrong?” Roman asks.
I shake my head and give him a reassuring smile. We’ll figure it out later. “Just hungry.”
He squeezes my hand, then waves me ahead with a little flourish.
I give Loch a curious look but he just grins back and nudges me to go through the double doors right ahead of us.
I push them open and step inside to find a lavish dining room with a table big enough to seat at least twelve, already filled with the most extensive breakfast I’ve seen in my life.
Everyone else is already seated, helping themselves to their favorite foods.
Mac and Drax both have bloody steaks and runny, over easy eggs on their plates, Atlas has a veggie omelet the size of his head, Rune is licking the powdered sugar from a beignet off of his fingers, and Cassius has a mug that I’m assuming is filled with blood.
He lifts it in a little greeting salute, and I notice that it has a picture of vampire fangs and the words “Mondays bite” on it. I snort a laugh.
“Pull up a seat.” Mac nudges out the empty chair right next to him.
“Are those cranberry scones?” My mouth waters. “Cranberry scones are my favorite.” I grab one off the serving tray and take the seat next to Mac.
“The demon butlers are good,” Rune says before biting into another beignet.
Roman sits down next to me and Loch settles on his other side, wrinkling his nose as he reaches for an empty mug and eyes a gold-plated pitcher.
“Sorry if this is a rude question, but they’re not, like, slaves, are they?” As I ask the question, a shadowy form appears, hovering over the empty mug in front of me like a little raincloud, and in an instant, the cup fills with lavender tea, just the way I like it with a splash of cream.
“No more than any of the rest of us are,” Drax says while Mac leans over and licks some runny egg yolk off his chin.
“They signed contracts to work for Auri for eternity, or until another demon kills him and takes over all of his contracts. They’re lesser demons, too weak to even manifest a full form.
They’re happy to have steady work and a boss who is halfway decent, even if he does have a flair for the dramatic. ”
I nod in understanding.
“The demon hierarchy is fascinating. If you’re interested, I can lend you some light reading,” Rune offers.
“Uhh…” I glance at Roman, and he sends a menacing scowl Rune’s way.
“Remove all curses first.”
Rune rolls his eyes. “Obviously.”
Loch finally picks up the pitcher he’s been having a staring contest with for at least a minute. Thick crimson liquid pours from it into his cup and my stomach turns.
“That’s the best vintage I have,” Cassius informs him. “It’s from a descendant of a Roman emperor. Very rare, very expensive. If you can’t stomach that, you might be a lost cause.”
Loch grimaces again and brings the mug up to his nose for a cautious sniff. I didn’t know a vampire could actually turn green, but I swear his pale skin takes on a chartreuse hue. He sets the mug back down on the table and puts his face in his hands.
“What am I going to do?” he groans.
I reach behind Roman and rub Loch’s neck.
I knew he was struggling with this, but I had no idea how bad it was.
Any lingering shred of disgust I felt over his decision vanishes instantly.
He’s not like those monsters who attacked me all those years ago.
He’s too sweet to even stomach blood, let alone hurt anyone.
Roman reaches for another empty mug on the table and sets it down right in front of himself.
His index finger contorts and his nail lengthens into a sharp claw.
He grunts quietly as he drags the razor-sharp talon down his wrist, opening it up.
I understand what he’s doing now. I hold the mug up for him, right underneath the flow of his blood.
He gives me a grateful smile and pumps his fingers open and closed a few times to increase the flow until the mug is about half-full and his wound is already healing.
Loch slowly lowers his hands from his face and sniffs cautiously. “Roman, you didn’t have to—”
“That’s what mates are for,” he says simply, handing Loch the new mug.
Loch looks down into it, and I can already see the difference on his face—hunger instead of disgust, his fangs lengthening and his irises glowing a faint red. He shakes his head though.
“I can’t do this forever though. I can’t expect you and Jare…” He stops and his eyes flicker in my direction, full of shame. “I’ll never take what you don’t want to give me, Jareth. I swear it.”
I push my chair back and move to stand behind him, wrapping my arms around him and kissing his cool, smooth cheek.
“I know that. I trust you. There’s no reason you can’t feed from the two of us exclusively, is there?” I cast a look in Cassius’s direction just to be sure. Vampires don’t get nutrient deficiencies or anything, do they?
“It shouldn’t be a problem. If anything, between your magic and Roman’s shifter blood, he’ll be incredibly strong.”
“That’s settled, then.” Roman nudges the mug of his blood closer to Loch before leaning over and nuzzling his ear.
“I think it’s sexy that it’s only our blood inside you,” he murmurs quietly, nipping Loch’s earlobe.
I nod in agreement and kiss him one more time before taking my seat again and finally digging into my breakfast.
ROMAN
A satisfied feeling swells in my chest to see my mate sipping my blood while we all eat. I fill my plate with steak and eggs, like Mac and Drax have, and Jare squeezes my thigh under the table.
“I’m still working on my research. I have to track down a couple of other notebooks. Atlas and I will pop around to some of my properties later today to look for them,” Rune says, “but you can feel free to do the draining and feeding any time you like, since Cassius and you three can handle that.”
Loch licks a droplet of blood off his bottom lip and shifts in his seat.
“Are we sure all of this is necessary? I mean, that guy… fairy… whatever, sucked, but I did kill him. It seems kind of extreme to go to war and set people on fire and stuff when it’s my fault as much as his.
Couldn’t we send his friends a gift basket or some flowers with a card that says something like, ‘Sorry I killed your prince, but he was trying to enslave me. My bad.’ and hope this whole thing blows over? ”
He sounds so earnest that I have to choke back laughter around my bite of eggs.
Affection swells in my chest and I’m even more sure than I was ten seconds ago that I will do anything and everything in my power to protect this ridiculous, naive, sweet vampire for the rest of our existence.
Everyone else around the table exchanges glances, and apparently Rune is silently nominated to take this one.
“Really cute idea, but that would absolutely end with every single one of us dead.”
“Well, shit.” Loch sighs, sticking his finger into the blood in his mug, swirling it around, then putting his finger in his mouth to lick it off.
I swallow down another laugh. I guess it really doesn’t bother him when it’s our blood.
My wolf preens at that, and I lean over to rub my cheek against the crook of Loch’s neck to scent him just a little more, even though he still smells perfect, just like pack.
I can only imagine how good he’ll smell once I’ve marked him and mated him.
My cock swells and my wolf nearly goes feral at the idea.
“Should we fill Auri in on everything?” Mac asks.
Drax grunts. “Probably a good idea.”
“Yeah.” I sigh.
As if summoned by his name—honestly, maybe he was, I have no clue how Auri works—our boss appears at the head of the table with his horns on full display and his long hair blowing in a nonexistent breeze. Drax definitely nailed it with Auri’s flair for the dramatic.
“My ears were burning, pets.” He smirks, his gaze fixed on me. “It sounds like our guests have been getting into trouble. Maybe we should talk.”
I guess we’d better get this over with.