Chapter Four
”We”re here,” I announce, guiding the car through the ornate gates that creak open with a ghostly moan. The gravel driveway leads us to the mansion in the center of the property. Its gothic architecture stands tall against the night sky, jagged spires and archways decorated with gargoyles that glare down at us.
The lawn is sprawling, the grass lush and green despite the onset of fall. A handful of trees are scattered across the acreage, their branches swaying in the cool night breeze. It”s the perfect spot for privacy and tranquility, two things that are rare in modern life. To say I prefer the autumn weather in Chicago to the suffocating heat of Florida would be an understatement.
Lola has been silent for most of the drive, staring out the window, lost in her thoughts. The lights from the city have faded away behind us, and now all we have are the stars twinkling above us and the dark trees around us to accompany our journey. But as I pull closer to my home, she finally breaks her silence.
”Holy shit,” Lola breathes as she stares at the massive estate that surrounds us. ”You have a castle. Of course, you have a castle.”
I laugh softly and stop the car. ”It”s not a castle.”
”Well, it”s sure as hell not a shack.” She snorts, lifting her eyebrows at me.
”Would you like to take a look inside?”
Lola steps out of the car, her gaze wandering over the ancient stone building. ”Maybe just a peek,” she muses, trailing after me.
”Tell me what you think,” I prompt her once we”re standing in the main foyer. I love this home, but I”m curious to know her opinion, and I want to see her face light up as she takes it all in.
Her eyes are wide and round as she surveys the polished marble floors and the various paintings on the walls. The entire entryway is illuminated by the soft glow of the antique chandelier hanging above us, sending flickers of light around us. It”s dated, but in a classic, old-money sort of way.
”I think I”d need to sell my soul to be able to afford something like this,” she responds dryly.
”Very funny.” I grin at her. ”Follow me.”
Lola trails behind me as I lead her through the foyer and into the grand ballroom. We walk past the fireplaces on either side of the room, and then I stop to watch her reaction. She takes a moment to take it all in before spinning around, her jaw dropping to the floor.
”There”s a freaking ballroom in your house!” she exclaims. ”How big is this place?”
”Just under ten thousand square feet,” I tell her, smiling at her look of amazement.
”Ten thousand,” she echoes faintly. ”And how many people live here?”
”Ten, including me. Though all of us are rarely home all at the same time. Clans are easier to maintain if they”re small. Once vampires form a nest, they tend to become quite... feral. They feed off each other”s emotions and lose control. Large clans often end in a bloodbath.”
She sends me a sideways glance and says, ”Stay away from large groups of you guys, noted. So, this is where you and your vampire buddies hang out and throw parties?”
”Not exactly parties. More like strategic gatherings for important discussions,” I explain, even though the thought of her dancing around in the center of this room the way she was in that bar is an image that has my groin tightening.
”Mhm,” she hums noncommittally, tipping her head back to look at the vaulted ceiling. ”And where”s your room in this palace of yours?”
”Are you looking for a tour of my bedroom?” I ask with a smirk. ”Because I”m happy to oblige.”
”No,” she claims, even though her cheeks flush with color. ”I”m just trying to see all that a castle has to offer.”
I guide her up the stairs, leading her down a long hallway of guest bedrooms. ”These are mostly empty. Any one of them are free for you to use if you wish. I have several more on the other side of the estate.”
Her jaw drops slightly. ”Why the hell do you need so many rooms?”
”Like I said, we hold meetings here.” I shrug. ”Vampire politics are complicated, and sometimes these meetings can take a while. Other clans will visit and stay here with us on occasion.”
She follows me to a set of double doors at the end of the hall. I open them and gesture for her to step inside.
”Woah,” she breathes as she crosses the threshold into my bedroom. Her eyes flicker around the room, taking in everything from the enormous four-poster bed in the center of the room to the chaise lounge near the fireplace.
I don”t miss the way her gaze lingers on the bed before turning her attention back to me. ”Wow, this is... extravagant,” she remarks, running her fingers over the intricately carved wood of a dresser.
”Being a vampire has its perks,” I admit, unable to help the small smile that plays on my lips.
She glances up at me from underneath her eyelashes. ”Oh yeah? And what other perks are we talking about?”
My voice goes low as I lean in close. ”Are you trying to get me to show you? Because I can assure you, you”ve only had but a taste of what I have to offer.”
I can hear her heart pounding, her breath catching in her throat as I bring my hand up to trail my fingers down her neck. My gaze darts down to her full, pink lips, and the urge to kiss her is overwhelming. When I lean in, she doesn”t pull away, but just before our lips touch, there”s a knock on the open door.
We both whirl around to find Adrian, one of the vampires in my clan, leaning against the doorway. ”Drake, I thought I heard you come in.”
His gaze slides from me to Lola, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he smirks. ”And I see you”ve brought a snack home with you.”
”Lola is my guest, not a meal,” I hiss. ”Behave.”
”It”s a pleasure to meet you,” Lola interjects, shooting me a look that tells me she can speak for herself. She”s feisty, that one, and I have to admit, I like it.
Adrian steps forward and extends his hand in greeting. ”And it”s a pleasure to meet you, Lola.” He sniffs the air around her, and I can only hope that my scent has masked the powerful magic in her blood. Of all the vampires in my clan, Adrian is the one who concerns me the most. He”s quick to anger and quick to draw blood, and he doesn”t understand restraint or the value of patience. Worse than that, I suspect he may be plotting against me. If he found out what Lola really was, it could spell disaster for everyone.
She offers him a polite smile, shaking his hand and not seeming to notice when he holds on for a moment longer than necessary. ”Nice to meet you, too. But call me a snack again and you and I are going to have a problem.”
Adrian grins at her, flashing his fangs in a predatory way that has me stepping forward to place myself between them. ”I like her,” he chuckles, looking over my shoulder at Lola.
”She”s mine,” I growl at him, baring my teeth in a show of dominance. The fact that he doesn”t heed the earlier warning I gave makes me want to rip his throat out right here and now, but I can”t risk upsetting Lola any further than she already is. ”Where are the others? Gather them in the library.”
He nods once, casting one more curious glance at Lola before leaving the room. The tension in the air is palpable, and I”m sure Lola can feel it, too. The second Adrian leaves, she whirls around to face me, a mix of emotion on her face. ”I”m yours? What the hell was that?”
”I”m sorry,” I apologize, running a hand through my hair in frustration. ”I wasn”t expecting him to come around while you were here. He was supposed to be off in Germany seeing to a matter involving a treaty.”
”A treaty? Jesus Christ, Drake. What have I gotten myself into?” Lola mutters.
”It”s complicated, but right now I have to address the clan about your arrival.”
She blows out a sigh. ”Great. A house full of vampires is waiting for me in a library. Can”t think of anything that could possibly go wrong with that setup. Except for them all feeding on me and leaving my empty body in a ditch somewhere.”
It”s true, some vampires wouldn”t hesitate to rip out her throat at the first sign of trouble, but that”s not the kind of behavior I tolerate in my home. ”They won”t hurt you,” I promise her. ”And you don”t have to come if you don”t want to.”
Lola shakes her head. ”I”ve come this far already. May as well see it through.”
We make our way into the library, and when she enters the room behind me, four pairs of eyes turn to look at her, one of them belonging to Adrian. There”s a tense silence as they all assess her, and I can feel Lola”s uneasiness behind me.
”Everyone, this is Lola,” I announce, gesturing to her. ”Lola, this is the rest of my clan.”
”What”s this I hear about you bringing a witch into our home?” Simon speaks up. His nostrils flare as he examines her with an analytical gaze. ”Who is she?”
”I”m right here,” Lola retorts, irritation flashing in her eyes as she meets his icy stare. ”I would appreciate it if you talked directly to me instead of acting like I”m not standing in front of you.”
Simon bristles at her attitude, but before he can respond, I cut in. ”Lola is under my protection. Do not touch her.” I shoot a warning look at Adrian, who must”ve smelled more than I hoped he would and is eyeing her up and down like a predator does prey. He should”ve waited to let me tell the others, but it”s too late to do anything about it now.
Adrian puts his hands up in mock surrender, as if he can sense the reprimanding look I”m giving him. ”I”m not going to lay a hand on your girl, Drake.”
Marina, the youngest among us, jumps to her feet, a sudden surge of excitement in her movements. ”I, for one, am just happy to have you home, Drake. You”ve been gone for months without a word! I was starting to worry that someone staked you or something.”
She wraps me in a warm hug, and I settle into it. Marina is like the younger sister I never had, and I”ve always taken great care to protect her from the harsher side of vampire life. She was turned, not born a vampire like the rest of us were, and she has a na?ve optimism that”s unlike most of us who”ve lived centuries.
”Don”t worry, I”m still here,” I assure her as we pull away from the embrace. ”And now that I am, we need to discuss our plans moving forward. I have an important update on the artifact, and it”s imperative that we figure out who in the clan is responsible for this.”
Marlon, the remaining clan member in the room, pushes his glasses up his nose. ”What did you find out? I”ve been fangs deep in the archives, and I can”t find any hint as to which coven we should be looking into.”
Adrian moves his eyes from Marlon, to me, to Lola, and I see the second he puts the pieces together. ”Is this her? Is this the witch we”ve been looking for? She is, isn”t she? That”s why you brought her here, because she”s the key to finding the artifact.”
Simon”s head whips around to look at us, and he takes in a long breath through his nostrils. ”Her scent has been tampered with. I can”t tell.”
”If you”d let me explain─” I try, but Adrian cuts me off.
”That”s because Drake slept with her,” he announces.
”You slept with her?” Marina repeats, her voice going high with surprise. ”You slept with the witch from the prophecy?”
Marlon lets out a low whistle. ”That could complicate things. You know witches aren”t much more evolved than humans when it comes to emotions. She could get attached to you. Jealousy can make witches very dangerous.”
”Couldn”t keep your dick in your pants, huh?” Adrian muses with a derisive chuckle. ”This is just typical.”
I level him with a glare. ”Would you like to say that again? We both know what happened to the last vampire who doubted my loyalty to this clan.”
Adrian shuts up quickly, and I”m glad to see a flash of fear in his eyes. It”s good that he remembers how ruthless I can be. I don”t want to have to remind him by sinking my teeth into his flesh. Not in front of Lola.
Marlon is the first one to speak up again. ”Regardless of whether or not she”s the witch in the prophecy, she”s still a witch. This is going to turn into a shitshow, and I think we all know it.”
”Hey,” Lola shouts, ”I”m perfectly capable of controlling my emotions. Just because I happen to have some doesn”t make me any more likely to mess up your stupid prophecy.”
Marina walks over to her and places a comforting hand on her shoulder. ”Of course not. Don”t let these guys get you all worked up. They”re just on edge because we”re all sick of running around trying to find the damn thing.”
”No,” Adrian protests, ”we”re worked up because─”
”She”s my mate,” I snarl. The room goes silent, everyone turning to look at me with stunned expressions. ”That”s why I”ve brought her here. Yes, she is the witch from the prophecy, and she”s agreed to help us locate the artifact. But she is also mine, gifted to me by the universe. If any of you try to lay a finger on her, you”ll have me to deal with.”
Lola looks as shocked by the statement as the rest of the vampires. Marina”s face breaks out in a wide smile, and she bounces back over to wrap me in another hug.
”Drake! You”ve finally found your mate!” she exclaims in delight. ”That”s amazing! Oh, I”m so happy for you.”
Marlon appears unconvinced. He stands and strides up to Lola, searching her neck for a mark. ”Are you sure she”s your mate? Because you haven”t marked her.”
I step in front of him, blocking him from getting too close to Lola. ”I”ve only just met her. She needs time to adjust to being a vampire”s mate. I”m not going to rush her into anything, especially considered what we”re already asking of her. Have some compassion.”
”He”s right,” Marina agrees. ”I remember what it was like for me when I was turned. It took a lot of adjusting before I could accept that I would never have a normal life again. I couldn”t imagine being bogged down by the thought of some prophecy hanging over my head on top of that.”
”I suppose that”s reasonable,” Marlon sighs.
Simon rubs the back of his neck and flicks his eyes to Adrian for half a second. ”But you do need to mark her before someone else tries to stake a claim on her.”
I know what he”s implying. The entire clan knows of Adrian”s ambitious nature. He”s always striving for more power and more influence, and I can”t rule out the possibility that he”d try to use Lola to get it, that”s why I sent him on that mission in the first place. But there”s no way in hell that I”m marking her before she”s ready.
”Noted,” I say in a clipped tone. ”But Lola and I need to get settled in first. I think that”s enough business for one night. Lola, let”s find you a room, shall we?”
She doesn”t argue as I lead her out of the library and back upstairs.
”What was that all about?” she asks once we”re out of earshot. ”Those vampires are terrifying.”
I can”t help but chuckle. ”You certainly didn”t look afraid of them.”
She shrugs. ”I”m not gonna let anyone intimidate me just because they”re a vampire.”
”I like that,” I admit, a small smile curling my lips. ”You have fire in you. I appreciate that in a woman.”
Lola stops in her tracks and faces me with a smirk. ”And what was that stuff about me being your mate? You made it sound like I belong to you or something.”
”I said what I had to say to protect you from the rest of the clan.”
”So I”m not your mate?” she presses, quirking an eyebrow at me.
I hate the way her gaze makes me squirm, like she”s seeing right through me. She almost looks disappointed, and I almost tell her the truth: that I suspect she is, in fact, my mate, but I”m afraid to let myself believe it after waiting for so long. I”ve heard the stories about the instant connection that mates feel for each other, the powerful, undeniable attraction that drives them to mark one another. The rumors are out there, but I”ve never actually met a vampire with a mate. Some think they don”t exist at all, and I”ve always been of that opinion until now.
”It doesn”t matter if you are or not,” I reply instead. ”What matters is that they believe you are.”
Her cheeks turn pink, and she shakes her head. ”Whatever you say. Can you just show me to my room already? I”m exhausted.”