51. Sina
“Okay. I will,” I huffed in frustration and jumped right off the deep-end. “Why did you encourage me to make Nik jealous?”
“Because my brother is a tortured soul who thinks he doesn’t deserve you and is doing anything to avoid you.”
He didn’t pretend to think about it. The bluntness stole my breath.
“That didn't make any sense if he was trying to avoid me. Why would he create a space just for me in his house?”
Harlow hummed softly. “Yes. He would do anything for his hive and their blood mate.”
Blood mate.
The phrase snagged. I assumed it meant some vampire version of a human partner. Maybe that was why they only fed from me now. Or from whatever blood bags they kept tucked away in the fridge. But still. None of that explained what mattered most.
Why only me?
“Why did Nik choose me, Harlow? I don’t understand why he told me you’re vampires and then just… ran away from me. Did I do something wrong?”
Harlow’s carefully blank expression shifted. A darkness settled into his blue eyes, like my question genuinely pissed him off.
“You didn’t do shit wrong, Sina.”
I frowned. Rafe had said the same thing, and I still didn’t believe it.
“So what then? He regrets telling me?”
Something dangerous flickered across Harlow’s face.
“I don’t give a shit if he regrets it. You’re mine , and my brother is fucking stupid for pushing you away. Do you hear me? ”
My heart kicked hard at the way he claimed me. At one point, I would’ve given him hell for saying something like that. I had more than once, to him and to Kiron . Not now. Now it settled some of the chaos twisting in my chest.
“Then why won’t he talk to me, Harlow? Why build me a room, make me dinners, tell me you’re vampires, and then vanish like I don’t exist?”
I wanted to add how he fucked me too, but he didn’t, did he? He never let it go that far between us. And that realization only pissed me off more.
Harlow inhaled slowly, like he was reining himself in.
“That’s my brother’s story to tell.”
I opened my mouth, frustration flaring hot.
“And before you ask,” he continued. “No amount of pushing or poking is going to make me talk about his shit. Okay?”
My gaze dropped to the blankets. That answer didn’t satisfy me at all. If anything, it only confirmed what I’d been afraid of all along. Nik would rather I wasn’t here. The thought settled ugly and heavy in my chest, refusing to be ignored.
Harlow grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I want to reassure you, darling. I swear. But you’re going to have to ask Nikolai why he’s avoiding you.”
“If he ever comes downstairs, I will. ”
I stared up at the ceiling, jaw tightening.
Cameras.
The word hit all at once, sharp and undeniable. I gasped. He had pointed them out so casually before, like it was nothing, and I had been so distracted I hadn’t even questioned it.
What the hell was wrong with me? How could I have been so stupid, so quick to trust them so blindly?
My stomach turned, my throat tightening as the weight of it settled in.
Why had they installed them in the first place?
The answer felt obvious and still somehow humiliating .
Be brave, Sina. Just fucking ask him.
Slowly, I turned my gaze back to Harlow, anxiety cinching tight around my chest.
“Why do you have cameras all over the house?”
“To protect you, of course.”
I frowned, not following. “Protect me how?”
Harlow rolled his eyes lightly. “The rogue, little vixen. You mean too much to this hive to leave any vulnerability open for his attack.”
“That doesn’t explain why you needed cameras everywhere,” I shot back. If I was honest I’d forgotten all about the rogue. If it wasn’t for Danielle I wouldn’t believe he even existed.
“It explains exactly why.” His tone was clipped, almost annoyed. “We’re making sure he never gets close enough to touch you.” A slow smile curved his mouth. “Bonus, it makes Nikolai jealous.”
My cheeks heated at the reminder, a flush of embarrassment chasing something sharper through my chest.
“That’s not a bonus. That’s an invasion of privacy,” I snapped. “Would you even have told me they were there if it wasn’t for some sick and twisted sexual game?” I pulled the blanket tighter around myself, suddenly feeling far more exposed than I had a moment ago.
“Sina,” he said calmly. “I had Elias install cameras and new locks at your apartment earlier that week. You didn’t seem to mind then. I swear no one will ever see the footage. We’re far too jealous to let anyone else see you like that.”
He gently tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, like that alone should reassure me. I searched his bright blue eyes for any hint of deceit. And annoyingly, I had to admit I had felt safer back home. Knowing that if the rogue found me, or Keith, we would be ready.
But the thought wouldn’t let go .
“What about this Elias guy? Will he see it?”
Oh my god. The things I’d done over the last few days on camera. Heat rushed up my neck and I groaned, burying my face in my hands.
Harlow chuckled and tugged my wrist down, forcing me to look at him. “Elias is Nik’s boyfriend. Ninety years. No one else will ever see anything. And if he did, I’d kill him.”
Boyfriend.
Of course there was someone else. And worse, he had been helping protect me too.
Installing cameras. Locks. Making sure I was safe.
Guilt hit me square in the chest, knocking the air out of my lungs.
I didn’t even know how I kept ending up in situations like this.
I had seduced his boyfriend. There was no softer way to frame it.
That night in the kitchen Nik had pushed me away more than once and I had kept pushing, kept taunting until he cracked.
I was a bitch. There was no denying that.
I ran a hand down my face, shaking my head. And I had spent the better part of the last two days knowing Nik was watching me with his hive. Watching everything. And Elias .
Did he know? Or was he just as much in the dark as I had been?
My stomach twisted hard. I wasn’t so much confused by Nik anymore. I wasn’t even hurt that Nik was avoiding me. That was a lie, one I would probably keep telling myself until it stuck, but layered on top of everything else what I felt most was shame.
I was the mistake in this scenario. The complication. The home wrecker.
Guilt curled low in my stomach, sudden and unwelcome, but I pushed it aside. I wasn’t in the right headspace to figure out why that bothered me as much as it did .
I hadn’t been completely at fault, and I had done this before to get cheaters caught, but Nikolai wasn’t like the scumbag Johns I usually dealt with. He felt different. He was different.
So why did I always make such stupid decisions?
Anger flared, sharp and sudden, and then it found its target. Harlow had known this whole time. He had pushed me into his sick, twisted game knowing Elias could get hurt. I didn’t even know the guy and I was furious on his behalf.
I scowled at Harlow and slapped his shoulder.
“What the hell, Harlow?” I snapped. “He has a boyfriend and you encouraged me to get in the middle of that. How could you do that?”
“Again, that’s a Nikolai question.” Harlow smirked as he released my chin and settled back against his pillow.
“That doesn’t make any sense, Harlow!”
I went to slap him again, but this time he caught my wrist, his free hand sliding up until his grip closed around my throat. I gasped but I didn’t push him away.
“Now, darling,” his thumb brushed my skin possessively. “If you want to ask about me specifically, I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I won’t lie. I won’t sugarcoat shit either. But I'm done talking about my brother.”
He lifted a brow and waited.
I took all of him in—the dark ink stretched across his chest and throat, the smudged eyeliner lingering from the day before—and considered it.
I wasn’t done with Nik. Or Elias. Not even close. But Harlow was right about one thing. If I wanted answers, I was going to have to start peeling them out one monster at a time.