Chapter 21
Delaney
My knees bounce as both Skyla and I sit in Winger’s office.
She paces back and forth and every now and then, she flinches.
No doubt she is feeling something through the bond with Camo.
I fucking hate not being able to sense what he is feeling.
He is still holding out on bonding with me, and it makes my heart hurt, not knowing why.
“Fuck, it is a blood bath out there,” Skyla mutters, biting her thumbnail, showing her nerves.
“I wouldn’t know,” I snap, then sigh. “Sorry.”
Sinking into the sofa roughly, showing my annoyance, I stare at the door. We are locked in Winger’s office, while the men fight whatever threat came through the clubhouse.
One minute we were talking, laughing, then an explosion filled the room. The noise was deafening, and the shock of it left me frozen for a split second, until the screaming started. It’s terrifying, not knowing what’s happening or why.
My ears are still ringing from the blast, and my skin is covered in dust and some blood from the club girl who died next to me. It is a fucking miracle that the piece of pipe hit her and not me.
She was literally next to me, walking by.
Hearing Thorin bellow my name had my heart skipping a beat in my chest along with the sight of him.
He was okay, disoriented but okay. In a flash, both Skyla and I were swept away into the office where we have been pacing back and forth for what feels like hours, even though I know it has been five minutes.
I have a feeling in my stomach that it has something to do with those Furies Thorin told me about.
He explained that he killed two of them already and the third sister was coming for revenge, but what they could not control was the fact that this Fury was helping an older vampire to sire so many new ones, creating an army so to speak.
It is like they just keep coming.
Skyla said that Tate was looking into so many people going missing, but they were mostly homeless people or tourists.
“I am sure that Thorin has his reasons,” she speaks up, breaking my inner thoughts.
“Yeah,” is all I say, keeping my gaze on the door.
“Delaney, honey, you know that he is strong and will deal with whatever is thrown at him. They all will. Nothing is getting to you; you have to know that.”
I nod. “I know all of that, Sky.” I sigh. “I just hate that I cannot sense him. I have no idea what he is feeling or seeing. Like you can with Camo.”
Pity and sympathy fill her eyes and I fucking hate it. For years I saw how the men looked at me with pity, both from what I went through but also from what Thorin was doing to me.
“Have you both talked about the past or just had sex?” I blink at her straight-to-the-point question, not sure how to answer it at first.
Everyone in the club knows that we are having sex, but I am not sure if they know that we have not discussed what has happened between us. Thorin has not said anything to me about the men knowing that we have or have not talked.
Fuck, I know that we need to talk, but it never seems to be a good time. To the outside world it looks like I have forgiven and forgotten what he put me through, but believe me, deep down I do not think I ever will.
The marks he left on my damaged heart only added more scars.
“We have not talked about his reasons, or how he made me feel deep down, or the damage he left behind. I know we need to, and we will. It is just there is never good time, or something crops up, taking him away on a run.”
“But you forgive him enough to sleep with him?” I stare at her, not liking the look she is giving me right now.
“What is this? Point out Delaney’s weakness when it comes to spreading her legs for her mate?” I snap at her.
“I am just saying.”
“Well, fucking don’t. I thought you were my friend, Skyla, yet here you are, not being supportive all of a sudden. Instead, you’re making me feel like a doormat for forgiving him just because I like to fuck him. Whatever.”
Silence sits between us. My stomach tightens even more that her sudden bitchy attitude toward me adds to my anxiety from not knowing what is happening.
Again, my heart hurts, but this time my friend made this slice, not the man I want to be with. I never expected Skyla to be the one to make me feel so exposed, her words cutting deeper than I'd ever imagined they could.
The sting of her judgment lingers, leaving me wondering if she has always thought that I was weak and pathetic to moon over a man who did not want me.
Keeping my focus on the floor, I ignore her. My chest is feeling tight at her words, my stomach feeling like it wants to empty. My knees bounce, and my teeth nibble at my lip.
The room feels like it is closing in on me, and all I want is for Thorin to come through that door, hold me tightly in his big arms, and tell me that everything is okay.
But he doesn’t.
A loud screech makes both Skyla and me jump, and we look at the door, waiting for whatever made that noise to come bursting through. Skyla comes to my side, her arm linking with mine; her body shakes as much as mine does.
There is a sound of a scuffle, then a thud. A wave of smoke seeps under the door, making us both gasp.
“Fuck. There was a vampire on the other side.”
“Gael?” I call out to him.
He thumps the door. “All good, Del,” he replies, and I let out a sigh of relief.
“Fuck.” My heartbeat regulates.
“Delaney, I am sorry for what I just said. It was wrong of me. Feeling Camo’s emotions while he is out there fighting, it affects my way of thinking.”
I nod but do not say anything.
Her words hurt.
I am tired of being hurt, of being used as a fucking human punching bag.
Both Thorin and I have a lot to talk about, and if he gets through whatever the hell is happening out there, we need to take the time to talk it out, not just fuck. Albeit, the sex is on a whole new level for us, bringing us closer together, but we also need to clear the air.
Skyla reaches for a bottle of vodka off the shelf, hitting a glass off at the same time.
Something in me reacts.
I catch the glass.
My eyes widen as I look at the tumbler. With a still shocked expression, I look to Skyla, who is looking at me with an equally shocked look on her face.
“How the fuck did you catch that?”
“No clue.” My voice is low and full of awe.
“You are human, right?” she jokes, collecting another glass and adding some vodka to it.
My gaze snaps to hers, frowning.
“What do you mean?” I offer her the glass, and she pours in some of the clear liquid.
“Babe, that was some superhuman speed right there. No way would I or anyone else have caught that,” she explains.
“But how?”
She shrugs, then winces. “Shit.”
“What? Fuck, tell me.” I reach for her.
Shaking her head. “Camo’s anger spiked. It sometimes makes my head hurt.”
“Does he know this?”
“Yeah. He also gets some abdominal pain when I am having a period.” She laughs, but there is no humor to it.
She is worried about her Ol’ Man, and hell, I am worried, too. No titles have been made public between us yet. Yeah, he kissed me but that means nothing to a lot of club members or the supernatural world.
Thorin has to claim me, bond with me like vampires are meant to be, and then do the Blood Oath of the club.
Yet another thing to add to the list of things to bring up to him.
“Sweets, you said that you have tasted his blood, right?” I nod. “Multiple times.” I nod again, swallowing thickly in anticipation of what her guess will be.
“From what Camo had told me about Thorin, he never lets women feed off him.” She stops.
“Why?” I am almost afraid of what she will tell me, but I need to know.
“The reason he won’t let anyone feed from him is because if a vampire’s blood is in a human’s system when they die, they turn,” she informs me.
Why had that never occurred to me before? I have read vampire romance books before, and that little piece of information has never popped up. Yet Thorin let me lick his blood and suck it into my mouth.
Fuck.
My pussy pulses. Bad fucking timing.
Thinking of what we did makes me hot and needy.
“I have his blood in my system,” I reply.
“Yup.” She taps her finger on her chin, thinking.
In a flash, I hear a whoosh of air, and I sway to the side, then look at the wall behind me.
“What the fuck?” I yell, seeing a pair of scissors imbedded in the wall.
Skyla giggles, clapping her hands.
“Damn, woman, you are superhuman now.”
“No, I am not. What the fuck is happening?”
“I think that with you being Thorin’s mate, his blood in your system is reacting. Protecting you by making you faster. Oh, maybe stronger, too.” Her eyes flash wide with excitement, whereas I am freaking the fuck out.
“What?” I all but screech.
Fuck, I need to calm down. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my palms are clammy.
Oh shit. Oh shit.
“What the fuck will Thorin think?”
“He will surely know that this could happen. He is the alpha vampire, so he has to know what happens between fated mates. You will have to ask him.”
“Oh, great. Let me just add it to the already climbing number of questions and things we need to talk about.” I roll my eyes, and she smiles.
“I am glad to have helped. I bet Thorin fucks like a champ but, babe, you need to talk shit through.” She gives me a poignant look. “Why do us good girls fall for fucked-up bad guys?”
I scoff. “Speak for yourself. I am not a good girl.” I wink.
“Whore.”
“Skank,” I reply, making her laugh.
It is nice to have this back, even though there was a fleeting moment where I could have lost a close friend. It is also taking my mind off what the hell is happening out there.
“Our men are strong and cunning. They will be fine. Everyone in the club will be fine,” she reassures me.
“The club girl isn’t fine,” I state, my throat clogging with emotion at seeing her dead body.
The room was such a mess: tables, and chairs overturned, broken to pieces. The front wall was almost gone. It looked like a war zone but now that I think about it, there was no force from the blast; it was all energy.
A spell. A witch.
“The fucking Fury. She must be the one who attacked.”
Her gaze widens at my revelation. Her mouth drops open, but before she can speak, a knock sounds at the office door.
“If you have weapons do not shoot, it is just two very dashing men coming to claim their ladies.”
Skyla rushes for the door after hearing Camo’s voice. My chest feels tight at the idea of him telling me something happened to Thorin, that the Fury won and killed him.
The door swings open and there stand two men, who are both covered in dust, blood and sweat.
All I see is him.
All he sees is me.
Skyla and Camo leave; we stay on the spot.
With my heart hammering in my chest, I wait to see what he does, and thank fuck, he doesn’t keep me waiting.
Stepping into the room, he comes for me. His hands grip the backs of my thighs, lifting me off my feet, and my legs go around his trim waist as he turns and walks down the hall to his room here at the club.
“Need you,” is all he says as we enter his room, and hell, I need him too.