Chapter 37
Max
Icouldn’t concentrate. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that something about Pearl’s reappearance wasn’t adding up.
How did she know she would find us in Maine?
It wasn’t unheard of for supernatural creatures to stumble upon Live & Lurk on their own, without any outreach, but Pearl went into Billie’s office with an envelope of photos—for us specifically.
Who would leak that sensitive information?
And why?
Being associated with an organization that protected creatures like us had given us the security we’d been missing, but now I wondered if I’d been correct to let my guard down even for a minute.
Unfortunately, I’d been ordered by Star to “lay off” the interrogations—so as not to further upset our new arrival.
What if that’s part of the plan?
Regardless, I obeyed, if only because I knew Pearl’s reappearance meant everything to Damon, even if he was struggling to come to terms with it himself.
That’s something I can understand…
Watching my mate head upstairs tonight—to reconnect with the loved one he thought he’d lost forever—had me sinking deeper into my own conflicting emotions of regret and envy, but I tamped it down, per usual.
The last thing I wanted was for my paranoia to ruin this reunion for Damon, even if I couldn’t seem to shake it off.
The worst part was, I couldn’t be sure if my intuition was correct or clouded by the deeply-ingrained distrust I’d honed over the past few hundred years.
I need a distraction…
“Oh, Maaaax!” Star sang out as she and Damon descended the stairs—both fully dressed but barefoot, which was a promising clue. “Might you be in the mood for a late-night walk in the woods?”
Yes.
I briefly closed my eyes and slowly exhaled, already feeling some of the tension bleed out of me. That my mates knew me so well—knew exactly what I needed to soothe my tortured soul—was a gift I would never take for granted.
Let’s play.
They both grinned when I tightened the belt on my smoking jacket, and I’d barely finished saying, “I’ll give you sixty seconds,” before they were racing out the door together, laughing wildly as they disappeared into the night.
It was a special sort of challenge tracking two targets at once, so while Star and Damon took advantage of their head start, I stepped onto the front porch and finished burying anything that didn’t contribute to the hunt.
Breathe, Max…
Go claim your mates.
With a growl, I descended the hill and approached the treeline with predatory focus, through a thick fog that had rolled in earlier this evening.
One of the biggest draws of our property—aside from the incredibly well-preserved Victorian-era structure—was the nearly forty acres of private, densely-wooded forest surrounding us on three sides.
Star enjoyed the color inspiration it provided for her makeup lines, while Damon often came out here for solitary walks and photoshoots with his muse.
We left it to Chaz during full moons, but otherwise, it was the perfect terrain for playing chase.
And I’m usually the one in pursuit.
It wasn’t only because it kept the hunter I once was alive, although it was partly that. Dominance simply came naturally to me—on top of my vampiric nature—and while my mates enjoyed switching with each other, they loved submitting to me.
Ready or not, here I come.
As soon as I entered the darkness of the canopy, I paused, closing my eyes and taking a deep inhale.
Pine needles, dried sap, fallen leaves, damp moss, muddy ground, decomposition, animal fear…
Calamansi lime and Sampaguita jasmine.
Like everything I once lost.
Like home.
As happened every time I thought about the island where I grew up, a dull, bottomless pain twisted in my chest—a pain I quickly buried along with everything else.
Sometimes, it felt like a curse that my mates smelled so achingly familiar, but I still devoured their scents like fresh blood from the kill.
Like everything I ever wanted.
A snapping twig to my left had me cocking my head, but the ensuing rustle of leaves suggested it was most likely a small rodent on a nighttime hunt of its own.
After a few minutes of steady stalking, it became clear neither of my mates had gone far. Their scents lingered—blending together in an intoxicating cocktail—as if they hadn’t split up as usual.
What is the game tonight, pets?
Steadily continuing onward, I traveled deeper into the eerily quiet forest, following the slight pull I’d always felt toward Damon and Star, even before I’d turned them into vampires.
A true mate bond.
Unbreakable.
Thanks to the moonlight filtering through the canopy, the fog had taken on a chartreuse hue, like a toxic swamp in a B-movie horror flick.
When I glanced back, I could barely make out the ghostly silhouette of our house, perched on the hill, emanating a reddish-orange glow through the stained glass windows.
A prickling sensation raised the hair on the back of my neck the same moment I registered the presence of another creature nearby—not by sight or scent, but by the awareness of their eyes upon me.
How did someone sneak up on me without my knowledge?
I slowly turned and discreetly sniffed the air, frowning when all I could smell was the decaying organic material of the forest and…
Home.
Wait…
Am I the one being hunted?
An odd thrill zipped down my spine. It wouldn’t be the first time one, or both, of my mates had attempted to turn the tables during playtime. While brat-taming wasn’t my preferred mode of dominance, I could play along until they came to heel—ready to accept the pleasure they deserved.
Until there’s nothing left but submission.
Casually leaning back against a nearby oak, I crossed my arms and smirked, assuming my stalker could plainly see me deciding to be difficult.
Who’s the brat-tamer now?
“Does our prey not want to play?” Star’s sultry voice in my ear had me grinning, turning my body to where she was hiding behind the tree.
Only to find nothing waiting for me but empty space.
I circled the tree, my confusion only growing when I couldn’t detect her sweet, flowery scent anywhere.
Maybe my mind’s playing tricks on me…
With a huff, I prowled forward once again, cursing under my breath when I immediately stumbled over a cluster of roots hidden by shadows.
“Careful, pet,” Damon spoke from somewhere close by—just beyond reach. “We don’t like seeing you hurt…”
Excuse me?!
“I’m no one’s pet,” I muttered under my breath, disoriented by how off-kilter I felt by the situation.
Where the hell are my mates?
At this point, the fog had grown so thick, I could barely see a foot in front of my face. It soon became clear none of my heightened senses were working correctly, which only caused my unease to resurface.
The wind picked up as I turned back the way I had come. At least, I thought I was facing the direction of our house. The view was so obscured by swaying branches, and the only indication of a structure was the distorted glow from the windows. Reddish-orange. Flickering in the foggy air.
Flickering like flames.
No.
Nonononono…
Panic clawed its way up my throat. I knew Star and Damon were in the forest with me—that there was no danger of them being hurt in the blaze—but this wasn’t about my mates being stuck inside.
My parents were in there, along with my sister.
My family is in there…
Myfamilymyfamilymyfamily.
I wanted to run to their rescue—wanted to save them from their fate—but all I could do was fall to my knees.
It was too late to save them, and not only because I was incapacitated.
It had always been too late. They were dead long before I got there, and because of what I became that night, I would never meet them again in the afterlife.
“Max! Shit… Damon, help me get him off the ground!”
“My arms and legs are broken…” I choked out, realizing I was now lying prone, hands clawing into the dirt and tears blinding me, unable to move. “He cut my hair. He killed my family. Dragged me out here… Made me watch them burn while he turned me…”
“Max.” A voice that felt like home curled around me with the scent of citrus, coaxing me from my nightmare. “Makisig… please. Come back to me.”
I was rolled onto my back, my eyelids fluttering open to find the most beautiful man I’d ever seen hovering over me. He was smiling tightly, his amber eyes searching my face and his expression pinched and worried.
Worried for me.
“How do you know who I am?” I whispered, because him using the name I’d been given as a child implied knowledge of my former life.
A life that burned with them.
“Because I’m your mate…” he murmured, leaning down to brush his lips over mine. “Your eternal companion, just like Star…”
Star.
A second face appeared above me—a woman with raven hair and eyes the color of the ocean back home.
Home.
This is my home.
They are…
Star and—
“Damon,” I replied, suddenly able to move my arms again as I cupped his face with one hand and Star’s with the other. “My mates.”
“That’s right.” She grinned, her bright smile magically clearing away the fog. “Your family.”
I rapidly blinked as tears blurred my vision again. “My family… They were killed by the vampire who made me…”
“Please, tell us what happened, Makisig,” Damon placed his hand over mine, tethering me to the present. “Share your pain so we can help you carry it.”
Because I’ve never truly let them.
I let my mates—my family—pull me to my feet before sitting on a large fallen limb. Star straddled the branch and draped herself over me from behind, while Damon sat at my feet, wrapping an arm around my thigh—both of them grounding me.
Then, I told them. I shared every dark, painful memory I’d kept locked inside for hundreds of years, while allowing them to see exactly how much wreckage these events had caused.
No details were minimized, no negative emotions hidden beneath a charming smile.
My tears freely fell as I finally showed my mates who I was.
Not Max.
Makisig.
When I was done, my mates simply held me close, and although the silence was heavy, I felt lighter. I no longer feared my secrets coming to light, and I could see the flames on the hill were nothing more than the glow through the stained glass windows of our house.
Our home.
“I’m… sorry to have kept you both at arms length for so long,” I finally spoke, knowing I could never fully apologize for the pain I’d caused them. “For being so… distant.”
Lost in my past.
Damon kissed my knee before resting his chin on my thigh and gazing up at me. “You’re forgiven, my love. I’m just glad you found your way back to yourself.” He glanced at Star and softly smiled. “To us.”
“Agreed.” Star tilted my chin so she could kiss me. “Thank you for sharing yourself with us.”
I blew out a slow breath and mustered a smile. “I suppose I should make an appointment with Dr. Sylvie next, hmm?”
Really dig into this unhealed trauma of mine.
For my family—both past and present.
Star brushed my short hair off my forehead. “No. Next, we’re going to head inside so Damon and I can give you all the love and attention you deserve. Then, you can tell us more memories—happy ones from your childhood on the island.”
I blinked back tears again, although these were more bittersweet. “All my happy childhood memories are bathed in sunlight.”
She kissed me again before sliding off the branch and pulling me to my feet. “We know. We still want to hear them, though, because we want to know you.”
“And perhaps we can all travel to your island someday,” Damon added. “Make new memories together in the moonlight.”
I nodded, absorbing the enormity of their words as we picked our way out of the woods and climbed the hill to our softly glowing house.
There, my mates made good on their promise.
They showered me in love and attention—and orgasms—ignoring every attempt I made to turn the tables, insisting they were making up for lost time.
By the time they were done, I was exhausted—from carrying so much for so long, from finally allowing others to help me carry it, and from simply submitting to the same care I’d always insisted on giving but never asked for in return.
Because I thought I no longer deserved it.
We would have stayed in our oversized coffin long after sunset the following evening—perhaps repeating the same ritual of unconditional love—if we hadn’t, once again, been interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing downstairs.