Chapter 15 – Rorik
I’m fuming.
How dare the gargoyle king, his short little mate, and her witchy mother barge into my apartment then kick me out!
“Layla has requested your presence at Five Boroughs College,” Xander had said.
I shouldn’t be surprised they showed up.
I was considering bringing a witch over to help Aurora with her memories, but I have a history of terrorizing witches. They’re not my biggest fans, and I struggle to find ones who will help me.
Evangeline and her mother would have agreed to help in an instant, but I’m a selfish man, and I didn’t want them intruding on my time with Aurora.
Now I’m being forced out of my home and away from my little lamb.
My driver takes me across Central Park to the Upper East Side while Aurora is all alone with strangers.
Never mind that I am also a stranger who literally kidnapped her but that was old Rorik.
New Rorik… Rory… has a mate. A second chance at this undead life. I’ve tamed my horrible ways. I mean, mostly. I’m sure the shifter I incapacitated this morning already informed Vara of my… overreaction.
Not that I found my reaction to be anything but reasonable. He shouldn’t have been there to begin with.
When I arrive at the international studies wing of the college, I find room 204, as instructed by the gargoyle king.
I enter a room full of supernatural creatures: Korna, a fae representative who’s tall and slender and has piercing icy blue eyes.
He currently has stark blond hair that falls to his shoulders, a recent change from short black hair.
Fae often change their appearance, probably because they love to deceive, and transforming their looks plays into their little games.
Also here is Johnathan, the beta for the Big Apple werewolf pack—a handsome, short, thick man with sandy blond hair, and supes I’ve never met including a mothman, a centaur, an orc, a demon, a griffin, and a bear shifter who I assume will represent all shifter species.
Standing at the front: Layla, Vara, and Thorne.
“Ah, Rorik, just in time,” Vara says with a smirk.
I resist the urge to flip her off and take the last seat in the front row.
“What is this?” I grumble.
Layla narrows her eyes at me before addressing the room. “Welcome to Socializing with Humans 101. This class will focus on how to properly act around humans once the supernatural unveiling plan is announced in one week.”
“One week?” I ask, my voice an octave higher. “I thought it was still three weeks away.”
I’ve been so consumed with my little lamb. Maybe I misheard.
“It was,” Vara snarls, “until somebody decided to kidnap a poor, defenseless woman. The committee has decided it’s best to move up the reveal.”
Fuck.
Right.
My bad.
“Up until now, we’ve remained in the shadows,” Layla continues.
“Which means, some of you have no idea how to act around humans, especially ones who are more hesitant to accept our kind. Over the next couple of days, we will go over some of the newly formed laws and do a little roleplaying to make sure you don’t do something idiotic when integrated into the human population. ”
She says that part directly at me.
Damn. I get it. I fucked up. It’s not like I’m the first monster to kidnap a woman.
Maybe the first to let it happen so… publicly.
“Some of you will be required to teach a course on the history of your species,” Vara adds and points at me. “Like Rorik Sevier, he’s ancient and the first vampire, so he will know the most about his kind. He will be the informant for humans who want to learn more about vamps.”
Absolutely ridiculous. I would much rather be drained of blood than be around humans. Especially scared ones who I’m not allowed to play with. They’re extremely unpredictable and highly emotional. I do not have the patience for this.
“Great!” Layla says, clapping her hands together. “Lesson one: humans are friends, not food.”
“They’re food to me,” I counter.
Layla pauses to compose herself before responding to my snark.
“Humans will not be viewed solely as food sources. They will voluntarily provide sustenance to the supes who rely on it, but I will remind all of you that unapproved feeding on a human in any form without written consent from both parties is strictly forbidden.”
“What about eating out a human?” Johnathan asks, wagging his brows.
Layla pinches the bridge of her nose. “Sexual activities with humans are allowed, again, with written consent from both parties.”
“I have to sign a contract to fuck someone?” Korna asks.
“It is highly recommended,” Vara adds. “At least at the beginning. We are supernatural beings with more power than humans. To protect yourself from accusations, sign a contract.”
“What type of accusations?” the mothman asks.
“Accusations of using magical influence in a human’s decision to be intimate with a monster,” Thorne answers. “Being accused of harming them with your supernatural strength.”
“Or with my massive monster cock,” the orc says with a chuckle.
Layla narrows her eyes at the orc. “This isn’t a joke, Graven. Shall I call your clan leader, Feder?”
The orc shrinks in his seat.
“That’s what I thought. We’re not implementing these rules to be strict. We’re doing it to protect our kind. Now, if you all could refrain from any more outrageous interruptions…”
I huff and lean back in the chair, arms crossed. I let the hum of incoherent thoughts from the minds in the room tune out the condescending voice of the vampire queen. I have no need to know the basics. I don’t eat humans. I rarely feed anymore, and now the only blood I crave belongs to my mate.
She’s different from Eden and Brynn. Her blood is irresistible, yet my hunger for it doesn’t overwhelm me like Eden’s did when we first met.
The bond is supposed to protect mates from harming each other, but it can happen, especially if a vampire is feral enough. As for Aurora being able to stake me… twice… well, the bond likely allowed it because it knew I couldn’t die. And probably because it knew I deserved it.
Something I didn’t tell Aurora was blood mates are rare for vampires because the urge to keep feeding from them is often uncontrollable. Too many vampires drained their mates and were unable to bring them back to life, undead or otherwise.
Millie didn’t have this urge with Teddy.
And I don’t with Aurora.
It’s almost as if the definition of a blood mate is changing. As if the curse against us, the one that began with me, has also changed.
Which gives me hope that once I find Ciara, I can end her life and take mine back.
For the first time since Eden and Brynn, I have something to live for.
Aurora. A woman whose thoughts I cannot hear.
Who makes me laugh and challenges me in ways not even my two other mates could do.
She’s too good for me, which is why I can’t let myself hope that this time will be different.
I never believed I deserved love after becoming a monster. I still don’t believe I deserve Aurora.
“Rorik, are you listening?” Vara growls.
“No,” I say and give the sphinx a wink.
She spreads out her golden wings and takes a step toward me, but Thorne puts out his arm, stopping her.
“Keep it up, Rory,” she seethes. “I might just make you the poster child of this unveiling plan. We need pretty faces, and hot vampires are popular in media right now.”
Joke’s on her. I’d disappear into the shadows again before becoming famous amongst humans. As long as I can convince Aurora to join me…
“Moving along,” Layla says, sighing. “We’re getting into groups now. Rorik, you’re with Korna and Johnathan.”
The class lasts another two hours before we’re dismissed. We went through a few scenarios of meeting humans and how to respond to a variety of reactions.
If they fear us, we leave. We don’t engage. At least that’s how it will be for the first few months until the humans can get used to our existence.
If they approach us with hate, ask to engage in a respectful conversation. Record the interaction and, if possible, call for a human ambassador to be there as a mediator.
If they’re attracted to us, approach with caution.
They expect there will be humans who will fetishize us at first. Not that we’ve never experienced this.
The vampires have fangbangers who like to be fucked and drank from at the same time.
Werewolf chasers like to be knotted during sex.
Fae fiends like to be manipulated and dominated, since the fae are deceptive creatures.
All of these things are fine as long as both parties consent. And as a precaution, a witch or other supe who can read minds or detect lies will be present for any contract signings.
All contracts will be infused with magic anyway so there’s no chance for deception on either end. Having witnesses is just added security.
There were other things we discussed that I didn’t care to pay attention to.
I stand to leave, and I’m steps away from walking out the door, when Vara stops me.
“Did you learn anything valuable, Rory?” She stands in front of me, blocking my path to escape.
I lift up a finger, as if prepared to make a profound statement.
“Now that you mention it… no.”
She rolls her eyes. “Look, I stopped you because you’re a dumbass who kidnapped a woman and now your ridiculously handsome—”
“You think I’m handsome?”
“—and frustrating face is all over the internet. You’ve gone viral.”
Ugh. The internet. I rarely use it, but I know that going viral isn’t always the best thing.
“Can’t you just say it’s AI?”
Vara snarls. “Unfortunately, there’s more than one video of last night’s incident so claiming it’s AI, which is an unethical piece of shit technology that’s ugly as hell, is not an option. It will never be an option.”
I shrug and drop my arms. “What exactly do you want me to do then?”