Chapter Seventeen - Sen
Teagan doesn’t give me any names.
But I’ll find out soon enough. He does give me something better—he lounges on the floor, his back slumped against my legs where I stand.
His legs splayed and his arms loose at his sides, head tilted in hushed bliss as he takes in his painting, while my fingers card through his soft curls to gently scratch his scalp.
His horrible quiet from the car is gone. As is his tear-stained, wild energy while he painted, like he couldn’t breathe. Only once he’d covered the wall in paint, he was free of each suffocating emotion.
I’m in awe of him.
Not for the art, which is spectacular. Teagan is an unrestrained wonder. He revealed something to me that I doubt many others have witnessed—his heart, or soul, or the most concentrated version of him. He did not explain, simply gave. It’s a treasure I’ll never stop being grateful for.
“Do vampires piss and shit?” Teagan asks out of nowhere, his little rasp tired but lighter.
My lips tug up. “When we eat or drink human food, yes. Not with blood, however.”
“And garlic?”
“Is delicious on eggs.”
This makes him laugh softly. “Sunlight?”
“Does fabulous things for my complexion.”
Another small laugh, and another relaxed sigh as I continue to run my nails over his crown.
“Are you immortal?”
“Yes. Vidar made me over nine hundred years ago.”
“Shit, you’re old.”
“Not as old as him, or Bran,” I tell him. “But yes. I was a samurai in a village in Japan when he found me. Well, a ronin, which is—”
“A samurai without a master,” he snorts. “I’ve watched Samurai Champloo.”
“An anime, I’m assuming?”
Teagan drops back to stare up at me, his curls framing wide, inquisitive eyes and small, heart-shaped lips. Like some beautiful, elusive creature blinking up from sea foam black as Tahitian pearls.
And now I’m wondering if a poster of Teagan will be enough. I suppose I’ll just have to keep him by my side forever.
“You don’t like anime?” he questions, as if this is a normal conversation and not me discovering the depth of my new obsession.
I offer a blasé shrug instead of confessing all this. “I prefer Sailor Moon.”
Teagan grins. “You’d be Sailor Mercury, right? She was kind of a detective and super hot.”
I chuckle, warm and syrupy, my palm travelling down his adorable ears to cup the curve of his jaw, so I can gently scratch his cheek. “You’d be Black Lady Moon.”
“Because I’m a bad bitch in a sexyass dress?”
“Exactly.”
Teagan’s eyes gleam as he returns to stare at his painting.
“So you were in Japan nine hundred years ago…”
“And everyone around me was dead, dying from sickness, or being picked off by bandits. Yet I was bored, always so painfully bored. Then a stranger came to visit. I’d never seen a white man before; I thought he could’ve been a demon.
Vidar certainly was big enough.” I chuckle at the memory of my younger self being so fascinated by the warrior and his chopped Japanese.
“He offered to help eradicate the bandits if I’d hear him out on an offer. ”
“And you did?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
Teagan’s quiet for long seconds before he asks, “Did Vidar turn my brother?”
There’s no point in shielding Teagan from the truth. We did it once, and look how well that turned out. “He did.”
Teagan nods, remains quiet again. I don’t mind his silence.
It gives me time to run my fingers through his curls, soak in the heat of him pressed against my legs, fill my lungs with his sweet tea and warm sand scent, and try to parcel out that other scent within him…
Something I so desperately wish I could name that rests on the tip of my tongue.
“Did it hurt?” Teagan whispers, pushing his pillow-soft cheek into the heart of my palm.
I sit on the dirty floor, shifting to make a space for him between my thighs, and when he cuddles into my chest without being asked or pulled, slotting his head under my chin, our connection sings with nothing less than pure joy.
“Sen, Kai hates pain,” his voice wobbles. “I don’t want my big brother to hurt.”
Surrounded by the paint Teagan used—black, reds, blues, and so, so much pink—I embrace my soulmate with arms that’ll mean safety for him and a weapon for everyone else. “No, sweetheart. Kai was in pain before, and while turning is painful, it didn’t hurt him.”
Teagan closes his eyes and curls into me, a deep sigh leaving his chest. “I’ve been kind of a dick to him.”
I shrug, uncaring. “Maybe.”
The conversation isn’t over just because Teagan stops speaking. But while he does, I watch him run his fingers over the paint on his knuckles, then find a wet spot and draw a patchy bat on my black tailored trousers with X’s for eyes.
He’d probably get a kick out of knowing he just ruined something that cost well over two grand.
“Shouldn’t you want me to be good all the time since we’re soulmates?” he asks, drawing a frowny face. Dipping his finger into a small puddle of pink paint so he can continue to use me as a canvas.
“That’d be hypocritical since I’ve been plotting the deaths of anyone who’s hurt you.”
Teagan’s whole face cracks into the biggest smile, nose crinkling and flashing his gums. And here I thought my heart was already full to bursting. Turns out all it needed was to break to make more room.
“Tell me more about being a vampire.”
His finger mindlessly moves against my leg. He isn’t trying to be seductive, but it sends a tingle of pleasure down to my cock all the same.
“We’re fast and strong. We don’t need to sleep, eat or drink.
But needing and wanting are two different things.
What’s the point of immortality if not to enjoy all that life has to offer?
” I wink when Teagan blinks up at me, and flash a hint of fang.
He isn’t scared; if anything, there’s a warming spiciness to his scent before it vanishes.
“We can compel, but it’s difficult and easier done on humans. Our blood also heals.”
“You did that to me, didn’t you? After Summer…”
I nod, not bothering to hide the anger in my voice. “I was lucky to get to you when I did. If I’d taken any longer, the damage might’ve been too great…”
“You can’t heal everything?”
“The older the vampire, the more potent the blood. But there is only so much that can be healed, and if a human hasn’t drunk enough of our blood before dying, then no vampire can bring back the dead,” I explain.
“Though there are rumours about Bran.” I shake my head. “Ridiculous rumours about that man.”
“I got the sense he’s a big deal.”
“No. Or… maybe. Vampires have families, but no formal hierarchy. He’s just old, Teagan. Maybe too old,” I tell him. “And dangerous. Never forget that.”
Teagan nods. “I promise.”
I bury my nose in his hair, breathe my soulmate in and fight back the urge to pull him onto my lap.
“Tell me more about vampires,” Teagan asks softly.
“We pick up languages, customs and cultures quickly, but it can result in us losing ourselves. So we collect things as a reminder. Lucero has DVDs, Vidar has ice skating magazines—”
“Yours?”
“Stamps.”
Teagan whips around and grabs my shoulders. Instinctively, I take hold of his waist.
“Stamps?” he repeats, thrumming with excitement. “Oh my god, you’re such a nerd!”
My lips twitch, and I pull him close so our chests press together. His nose is mere centimetres away. “I’ll have you know I’m a sexy, mysterious samurai—”
“Ronin,” he corrects, eyes dancing.
“—turned vampire. Who makes deals in the dead of night and steals from interesting people.”
“Who collects fucking stamps.” Teagan drops his head on my shoulder, his body vibrating with quiet laughter.
“And you…” I card my fingers through Teagan’s luscious hair, then carefully direct his face back up to mine. “Are being very naughty.”
Through the holes in the ceiling, Teagan’s black eyes capture and reflect the thin beams of moonlight, and as each one sparkles like a million scattered stars, the entirety of him becomes my universe.
“Sen…” he whispers.
“Teagan,” I reply, knowing he hears all my desire in the words I’ve left unsaid.
Slowly, Teagan reaches for my chin and runs a feather-light touch under the curve of my bottom lip.
“I want to see your fangs.” In some ways, his gentle, curious exploration is like Teagan asking me to bare my beating heart.
So, of course, I open my mouth and elongate my canines into sharp points.
There’s no fear, just his ever-inquisitive gaze and the slow heating of a scent that makes my mouth water.
But as slow as that scent rose, it’s washed away when he lies his hand on my chest, stopping me from closing the distance, his gaze shooting away.
“Teagan.” I don’t care that he doesn’t want something physical; I care that he’s hiding from me. “What happened?”
“I…I can’t…” He bites his lip, then shoots up, taking his warmth with him. “Kai’s gotta be losing his mind. We should go back to the mansion so I can talk to him. Probably get some actual sleep, too.”
After a beat, I stand and watch as he moves towards his painting like it’ll offer him comfort when mine suddenly became—what? Too much? Too intense? Here I thought I was reading him so well.
I decide not to push. While we’re still getting to know each other, I understand him enough that he’ll soon tell me. Or show me with paint. “Let’s head off then.”
Teagan might be quiet, but he’s also the most expressive person I’ve ever met, though those expressions might seem small to the average person.
I, however, am not the average person. So when he rolls his head to the side to stare at me, I notice the shock in the twitch of his eyebrow. The way his jaw stops clenching and the point of his lip edging just so into his cheek.
My soulmate expected me to push. He’s happy I didn’t.
If only that were all. I also pick up on the single wrinkle between his brow. And there, within the corner of his eye, is something that hurts. Something that makes him feel small again.
Teagan has the ability to crumble my patience, and I have to swallow back each demand he gives up the names of those who hurt him. To push Teagan would mean losing him.
We leave Teagan’s studio, crawl through the disgusting hole to get out of the abandoned shopping centre, and soon we’re back in the comfort of my car.
As we drive through the night, Teagan inspects each pocket like it’s his first time inside.
Like he doesn’t care what he finds, he just wants to find something.
When he discovers my ABBA CD, he flashes a grin before he slots the shiny disc into my stereo.
As we drive through surprisingly empty streets, Teagan bobs his head.
***
We get back to the mansion slower than normal, and I have no problem admitting it’s because I was mesmerised by the way Teagan bobbed and swayed to ABBA’s greatest hits.
But when we arrive, he hops out of my car and heads straight to the mansion with me on his heels. Teagan wants to talk to Kai, and it seems once Teagan’s made up his mind, he’s full steam ahead.
My brave boy is no wilting wallflower.
We soon find Kai in the kitchen, huddled on the cushioned bench with Golden on one side and Ramy on the other, Vidar and Lucero watching over them from the island.
“Teagan.” Kai shoots up and rushes to his brother, his hands flexing. “I was so bloody worried! You can’t just sneak out of the house while a mage is after you! You have to be more careful, even with Sen. Anything could’ve happened. What if you’d gotten hurt, or kidnapped, or Summer—”
“Your braids are a mess, big bro,” Teagan cuts in on Kai’s rambling with his soft rasp.
Kai’s mouth hangs open before he shakes himself back online. “W-what?”
Teagan nods, shifts his feet. Lifts one shoulder as if to shrug. “Your braids need retwisting. Lemme fix that for you.”
Kai opens his mouth, closes it. Opens again. Then throws his arms around Teagan, eyes full of tears, then whimpers when Teagan hugs him back, like Kai thought he’d never have this again.
“Yeah, mate,” Kai stutters out. “Yeah, you can fix my braids.”
After a long hug, Teagan is the one who pulls away and glances over his shoulder at me before he’s dragged away by Kai.
“Looks like they’ll make up,” Golden chirps, grinning.
Ramy nods slowly, watching the brothers leave with a hint of longing. “Good, I’m glad.” I haven’t spent much, if any, time with our youngest. He smells like roses, but there’s something else lingering there, too. A sharp foliage I can’t yet describe.
I move over to Vidar and Lucero, trying to hide that my heart is walking away from me. But from the way they look at me, they both understand. It’s very annoying to be in love, apparently.
“Your detective friend snuck into the house,” Lucero drawls.
“I know,” I reply, forcing my feet to stay put.
“Are you staying?” Vidar asks, tattooed arms crossed.
“No. I need to go back to the hotel and clean up. Then start looking for Summer again. Where’s Bran and our little scentless mage?”
“Bran left, but I’m sure he’ll be back. We’ve given Elio a room,” Vidar explains.
“I don’t trust him.” I run my tongue across my teeth, then shove my hands into my pockets. I glance back down the hallway. “Do you?” I ask when I can drag my focus back to Vidar and Luc.
“Trust a blood mage?” Luc snorts. “Never. But better to keep him close for now.”
“Good,” I sigh.
Vidar claps me on the shoulder and squeezes. “We’ll figure this out.”
Golden comes over and slips into Luc’s awaiting arms. “Maybe if we can just talk to Summer, we could fix this…”
“I know she was your friend, beautiful, but she’s betrayed us,” Luc tells his mate, tucking Golden under his chin.
“She hurt Kai,” Vidar says, voice hard as stone.
“She hurt Teagan,” I add, without room for remorse.
“She hurt you, Golden,” Lucero adds softly, dangerously.
Golden’s shoulders drop. “I just wish things could be different.”
Ramy is suddenly beside me. “Once this is all over, things will get better,” he assures Golden. “We’ll be a proper family.”
Ramy is more than just a pretty thing Vidar made a vampire in a moment of weakness. There is an acute longing in him. I see it every time he stares at the mates, or Kai and Teagan. He craves family.
I bet he was disappointed when he was lumped with us.
“Did you know Teagan painted a tiny dick on your leg?” Golden snorts.
“I’m aware.”
A cartoon cock and balls shouldn’t make me feel like a piece of my soulmate remains by my side. It also shouldn’t make me swallow back the lump growing in my throat when I notice the small heart spurting out of the head and yet…
Relenting, I smile. How could I not?