CHAPTER 37
WREN
∞
My fears last night were unwarranted. I thought, after smelling Chess’s blood, that I wouldn’t be able to control myself in my weakened state, but I was wrong. I still have a handle on my hunger and I’m thankful for that. I don’t think I could have forced her to leave me without either upsetting her or scaring her.
Talking with her was nice. I don’t talk to anyone except Alex about anything mundane, and it was nice to just not have to worry about anything important for a short while.
She stayed with me until I fell asleep and ended up falling asleep herself. We had sex again…I’m so fucking glad she’s not regretting us sleeping together because honestly, I don’t think I could handle her completely rejecting me again.
“Frankie?!”
Fuck.
I launch out of bed and grab for my pants and t-shirt, slipping them on. I walk out of the bedroom and see Alex standing by the doorway with shock clearly written all over his face, and Chess in the kitchen, clearly embarrassed by the situation. It would have been easier to explain this away if she was wearing proper clothes, but I just had to go and rip her fucking shirt off her body.
Worth it.
I don’t actually regret doing that because it was hot as fuck for me and I’m sure it was for her too, but neither of us anticipated Alex showing up here two hours before our meeting.
“What are you doing here so fucking early, Alex?”
His head whips over to look at me and his face turns from shocked to angry. “Oh, no. We are not focusing in on that right now. What the fuck is this, Wren,”
he hisses, motioning to Frankie. “Did you compel her? Did you fucking use your shit on her to prove a point? How fucking dare you take advantage of this girl!”
I have to hand it to him. He cares more about her than he lets on, and I’m both grateful and irritated about it. “I didn’t compel her.”
“You’re fucking lying! There’s no way in hell she would just waltz in here on her own. She’s wearing your shirt, Wren. Did you…please tell me you didn’t treat her like you do the others.”
“Alex, stop.”
Alex snaps his mouth shut and glances back at Chess as she speaks. Her voice is quiet, but it holds presence in this situation. “Wren didn’t do anything wrong. I came here on my own and he didn’t compel me to be here.”
“Did he hurt you,”
he growls, stepping closer to her.
“No, Alex.”
“Alex, I would never hurt Chess,”
I try to reason.
“You already have! How could you.”
“Nothing happened without consent,”
I murmur, stepping closer to Chess.
His eyes dart to her as she reaches out and grips my hand, pulling me closer to her. I’m impressed she’s actually willing to show me outward affection in front of Alex, but we haven’t exactly made it easy to avoid. She’s in my apartment and wearing my shirt. The implication is already there.
“I need a word with you.”
Alex’s voice is dripping with anger. “Now, Wren. In private.”
I lean down to Chess’s ear and brush my lips gently across her cheek. “I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.”
She squeezes my hand as I step away from her and follow Alex down the hall towards my home office. He holds the door open for me and then slams it shut behind him.
“Is this why you went off last night and went fucking reaper on the werewolves?”
He hisses with barely contained rage. “What are you doing, Wren?!”
“Chess and I had sex yesterday…twice…and then sort of again after breakfast.”
“Why didn’t you fucking tell me yesterday? You fucking blindsided me and embarrassed her!”
“No, you embarrassed her by coming here unannounced.”
“I was worried about you and came to check on you before the meeting, Wren. Don’t try and push the blame on me.”
He drops down into the chair in front of my desk and looks absolutely drained. “How did this happen? Is she telling the truth? You never compelled her?”
“She made the first move yesterday. And then last night, she came to see me. Clearly she was pissed off that I had you message her about the meeting. She thought I was avoiding her after everything that happened.”
“I don’t even know what to say to this. I never thought she would ever want to be around you willingly or let you touch her, let alone fuck her.”
“I told her everything about what happened after the club, Alex…what I had to do for her. I had to get her in the tub because she was burning up, so I had to undress her.”
“Wren---”
“I didn’t touch her in that way. I would never do that to someone when they’re drugged and unwilling. Even if she had been willing because of the Float, I never would have done that to her. After everything, Alex, she doesn’t deserve to be treated as property.”
“So, are you finally admitting you like her?”
He chirps.
I roll my eyes and cross my arms across my chest while he smirks at me. “Fine…I like her.”
“She’s going to get you killed.”
“Probably, but I feel more alive than I have in a long time, Alex.”
“Have you fed off of her?”
He asks quietly.
“Fuck no! Are you insane? There’s no way I could handle that with her. Plus, she doesn’t want me biting her.”
“How the fuck are you managing that while fucking? It’s like…vampire nature to want to bite when you’re about to come.”
Fuck, this is embarrassing.
“I bit my own arm yesterday.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I tore through it like it was nothing. It hurt like a mother fucker, but I had no choice. I was able to control myself fine this morning though, so I think feeding last night did help a bit.”
“So you guys fucked before I even got here? Fuck, Wren,”
he laughs. “Are you planning to tell her about Jullian or not?”
“No. She doesn’t need to know anything. He was out of her life for twelve years and now he’s gone for good. It makes no difference, and if she knew what I did, she would probably be pissed off.”
“Fine,”
he sighs. He gets up and opens the door for me again.
Chess is sitting at the table with a mug of coffee cradled in her hands. “Is everything alright?”
She asks cautiously.
I bend down and kiss the top of her head as I squeeze her shoulder gently. “Everything is fine, Chess.”
She settles her hand on top of mine and nods her head. “Since when is it okay for him to call you that?”
For fuck’s sake, Alex. Shut the fuck up!
“It used to be my name…before,”
she drags in a rattling breath and looks over at Alex. “Wren said I need to take my name back so I can heal…so I’m trying to do that.”
“Man, you two are fucked. You literally hated each other just a few days ago and now you’re all lovey dovey with each other. I wanna hurl.”
“Alex,”
I growl while Chess laughs.
“We still get into fights. It’s not like I can change who I am that easily and neither can he, but I think you’re trying.”
She leans back to look at me and I smile down at her. “I am,”
I admit. “I don’t want to be a villain in your eyes, Chess.”
“You’re sort of soft with me lately, and it’s hard to hate you when you’re like this,”
she giggles.
“Did you just call me soft?”
I say exasperated.
“Well…you’re not completely soft. At least not where it counts.”
Alex starts making retching noises and I roll my eyes before glaring at him. “The vengeful King has gone soft,”
he cackles. I shift towards him, and he backs away quickly with a huge grin on his face. “Man, if anyone else saw you right now, they really would think you’re insane.”
“Alex, you’re being an asshole,”
I groan. “Is it so fucking bad that I’m trying to be a better person. Fuck you actually. I know I’m not a bad person. I’ve done more in the last fifty years for this city and its vampires, than the previous King did in two hundred.”
He grabs the pot of coffee, pours himself a mug, and settles into a chair. “You have, I’ll give you that. Is it so wrong, as you put it, to show the same compassion to the rest of your charges though?”
“What do you mean?”
I’m not sure where his train of thought is going, but I have a bad feeling.
“You’ve put up this massive wall around you, Wren. Sure, you’re good with me, but you sired me. Don’t you think loyalties would be even stronger if you treated all the others like they mean something to you?”
“But they don’t. The only vampire I care about…is you.”
His eyes widen at my honesty, and I actually see him blush as he drops his eyes to the table. “Wren, I---”
“No, Alex. You’re everything to me. I treat you like family because you are family to me. I don’t need any of the others to feel any emotional attachment to me because emotions can get you killed.”
I shift towards him and pat him on the head. I don’t think he even realizes how much his existence means to me. I would be lost without him. He’s been with me through some of my darkest moments. He’s the only one that is allowed to speak to me the way he does, and he puts me in my place when it’s needed.
Chess is slowly moving in within my heart as well. Her attitude and feral nature, awakened something inside of me, and she reminds me so much of Alex. That’s probably why I was drawn to her in the beginning…that, and their blood. Alex had a draw on me when I first met him as well. They could be twins in the sense of their essence and their personality.
“You’re getting sentimental and you’re making it weird, Wren,”
Alex teases. I grip his hair and tug his head back to look at me. The tears brimming his eyes has me completely flustered and he smiles up at me. “I’m glad I got to spend all my years with you, Wren.”