Chapter 13
Iwent up to my room with the box hugged to my chest, still trying to process the gift Countess Dariah had truly given me.
It was far more than a suit; it was a testament to her confidence in me as a Vampiress.
She was certain I had the power within me to fight my own battles just like she fought hers, and I was not going to disappoint her.
When the elevator opened on the fifth floor a flurry of activity greeted me. I stepped out of the elevator but stopped in the middle of the hall when a few servants walked past me. Placing some luggage inside the elevator, they held the doors open.
“Hey, Natalia,” Alyce cheerily greeted, exciting her room and moving past me to the luggage.
Hannes excited his room next, and my head snapped toward him.
I arched a brow at him, silently asking for an explanation.
When he caught my perplexed and half-pissed-off expression, something sparked in his eyes, and he walked right past me, getting in the elevator with the others.
“What the hell?” Star growled as I turned to face them.
“Where are you going?” I demanded, just as Hannes pressed the button on the panel, his intense eyes fixed on me.
Momentarily shocked, I watched the doors begin to close. Luckily, I snapped out of it and marched into the space before the doors slammed together. I stood there, like an idiot in the packed elevator, scowling at the sexy lumberjack with the box pressed against my chest.
He silently watched me in turn.
“He can’t leave. He’s my mate!” Star growled.
“You can’t leave, you are Star’s mate,” I declared, not convincingly since my heart was racing in my fucking chest, and I was very confused about what was happening.
A single thick eyebrow arched questioningly. “Star’s mate?”
“Natasha’s, Star’s. You know what I mean,” I scoffed.
“I am their mate,” he agreed, looking at me with a hint of amusement in his gaze. “And I’m still leaving.”
When the doors opened behind me, he walked right out, completely ignoring me—as did the servants who picked up the suitcases.
Alyce just shrugged at me before she walked away.
“What the fuck are you doing? Follow him!”
Pissed off, I did exactly as Star ordered, quickly walking after them to catch up. Unfortunately for me, this man was massive, and each of his steps was like two of mine. We were halfway through the garden before I finally reached him again.
“Stop this, Hannes. You can’t leave,” I ordered, grabbing his arm and successfully halting his steps. “Okay, what is this? What’s going on? What’s happening?”
“Nothing is happening,” he answered calmly. “We are just leaving.”
My incredulous eyes went to Alyce, who shrugged again and continued walking toward the helicopter pad in all her sexy, wonderful, lesbian glory. She looked like a model strutting the runway in that red winter coat.
“Focus! This is not the time for fashion appreciation, Bitch. I’m losing my mate!”
Right.
Grunting, I realized he’d resumed his pace, and I was forced to rush to his side again.
“Are you leaving because I didn’t immediately remember you when I first woke up?” I asked. “It wasn’t intentional. Everything was coming to me slowly and—"
“Nope.”
Frowning, I searched my mind for another reason. “Is it because André and Dante slept in my bed last night, but I didn’t invite you to stay?”
“Nope.”
“Because I pushed you all out of my head so you wouldn’t hear my thoughts anymore?”
“Nope.”
“Stop him! He’s almost at the helicopter!”
“Okay, I know I had sex with Dante and André already—separately and at the same time—yet nothing has happened with you yet. Is that the reason?”
“Nope.”
“I know you have needs, I’m not unreasonable,” I added, struggling to keep up with his large steps. “And I’m not going to lie, you are definitely delicious. In fact, I’m sure you and I can destroy a few balconies too, but it’s been like two days since I awoke, dude. Give me some time!”
That dangerously adorable grin of his threatened to fully curve his lips, but he asshole didn’t let it take over. He didn’t even answer me.
Using my enhanced speed, I stepped in front of him, blocking his path. “Fine. We’ll have sex right here, right now!”
“Bend over before he can say no. His wolf will take over!”
Deep, throaty laughter escaped him, shaking his broad chest each time, and I couldn’t help the smirk that took over my lips in response.
His happiness was infectious.
“We haven’t even kissed yet, Natalia,” he confessed among chuckles, glancing at me like I was the most adorable little thing.
“First of all, I’m not adorable. I’m a sexy Vampiress so stop looking at me like that.” I wagged my finger at him. “And second of all… We haven’t kissed?”
He shook his head, his eyes saying my cuteness had doubled.
Huh. My brow furrowed as I searched Natasha’s memories, finding only their exchange at the beach, when he picked her off in his arms, but Star interrupted them before he could kiss her.
“Well, that was stupid of you,” I scoffed, to which she remained suspiciously quiet.
Hannes sighed deeply, bringing my attention back to him.
His enthralling gaze washed over me slowly, making the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. There was something about him that was so utterly different from Dante and André. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was there, pulsing between us and making him even more desirable.
“So…?” I pressed, still wanting an answer.
Lifting a hand, his thumb rested on my jaw while his fingertips gently caressed my neck, sending a delicious shudder down my spine.
“I want far more from you than just sex, Natalia. I want your heart.” His words cut through me, and still, he sidestepped me to keep walking away.
“If you wanted my love, you wouldn’t be leaving!” I shouted after him, standing my ground. I wasn’t running after any man; I didn’t care how mind-numbingly hot he was.
Our sexy lumberjack still didn’t answer, his steps steady as he almost reached the helicopter. The last of their luggage was being hauled inside the back door.
“Also, what kind of mate does that make you? Aren’t you supposed to be tied to Natasha by some Moon Goddess bond? And yet, you are leaving her when she still needs you?”
His entire body stiffened at that, halting his steps.
I’d hit a nerve. Good.
“Aren’t you supposed to be her protector? Her mighty shield?”
My own words slapped me with the truth, and I finally realized why he was leaving. It was me. I was the reason. Yes, Hannes was meant to protect Natasha from any evil that may come for her… but who would protect him from me?
Heart thundering in my chest I stepped forward, searching my mind for a way to stop this. There was none. He had every right to want to be as far away from me as possible.
Surprisingly, my bitchiness bounced right back for round two.
“Fine, so technically I could kill you. I can disintegrate you where you stand, so what? Are you going to let a tiny little thing like my fire being the only force in the universe that can destroy you stand between us?!”
I expected him to turn around and tell me off, to explode into the Beast, or at the very least laugh. Nothing. For the first time since I’d met him, he didn’t even smile.
Shit.
“I’m sorry, but we have to go.” He began to take the steps into the helicopter.
“Don’t let him leave!” Star roared like some kind of wolf monster.
“Well, short of jumping on him, I don’t—” Fuck!
Throwing the box on the ground, I dashed forward and launched myself at him, landing on his back and wrapping my arms and legs around him in a deadly vice.
He still entered the helicopter. Not a care in the fucking world.
Sadly, his words echoed in my mind too late… when my gaze fell on everyone already inside the helicopter.
WE.
The asshole had said we.
We have to leave.
It hadn’t even occurred to me that Dante, André, and Vanessa weren’t anywhere to be found in the castle, or even out here, trying to stop him too.
Alyce, André, and Vanessa, all sat comfortably in the living room-like space, chuckling with mischief.
Each had a book, their phone, or a magazine in their hands.
All except Dante, who was hiding his smirk behind the rim of his freshly poured glass of whiskey.
He intently watched me—like he was waiting for a volcano to erupt.
My grip loosened around Hannes’s body a moment before he unceremoniously dropped me on the sofa in the back, sitting beside me while the others finished chuckling.
“You all better sleep with one eye open,” I warned, reigniting their chuckles.
“Fucking assholes…” Star growled.
“Ditto.” My fucking heart was still racing out of my chest. “Wait!” I suddenly realized someone was missing. “Where is Isis? We can’t leave without her, or Bj?rn.” They were a package deal, I’d noticed.
“She can’t come with us this time,” Hannes explained while one of the servants entered the helicopter with my black box in his hands.
“Lady, Natash-I’m sorry, Lady Natalia, you dropped this.” With a kind smile, he handed it to me.
“Thank you,” I offered, taking the box and placing it next to me. “What do you mean she can’t come?” I asked, glancing at Hannes, Dante, and André.
“We can’t stay here,” André answered instead, his voice soft. “It’s not safe for you anymore.”
He was right, and I should have realized that already.
I needed to sharpen my senses, my mind, and be more prepared for what might come now. It was the only way I could protect Natasha and Star. They were my responsibility now, so that meant I had to get my Vampiress shit together sooner rather than later.
“Well, I’m not going wherever it is you want to take me without Isis.” I stood. “I’m not leaving Natasha’s second mother behind. She’s going to need her when—”
Coming to my side, Dante handed a cell phone to me. His amused smirk was gone, a loving gaze replacing it. “It’s Isis.”
“Hello?” Her face popped up on the screen the moment I grabbed the phone.
“Hey,” I answered, giving them all my back. “Why aren’t you in the helicopter with us?”