8. Rena
Rena
Every centimeter of my body felt too sensitive for my clothes.
My bra pressed against my nipples, making them ache in memory.
The underwear I’d pulled on may as well have been made of nothing, since they were no barrier at all to the seam of my jeans rubbing against my sensitive flesh with every step.
It took every ounce of willpower I had to hide it from the women around me as they spoke in hushed voices.
Rosemary was still hollow-eyed and quiet.
Reese and Lucy discussed how they would be able to help when their mates freed the Vampires in the facility.
Alice was telling Helen and Mattie about the supplies she’d ordered from a local medical supply store that she and Sven were going to go pick up after he was done with the meeting outside.
“How’s the mating heat?” Lucy asked sympathetically as I gingerly sat down on a stool. “Making you want to crawl out of your skin yet?”
“Not quite that bad,” I replied, wrinkling my nose. “But not that far off.”
“It fades,” Mattie said, reaching out to pat my hand before continuing with her conversation.
“Sex helps,” Lucy murmured out of the side of her mouth. “But it doesn’t fade right away, just so you know. Even after you finish the bond, it’s still pretty bad. It takes time.”
“Oh, joy,” I said, blowing on the hot risotto. Mattie had added asparagus and mushrooms to it, and my stomach grumbled from the smell alone.
“Just make sure that you’re checking in,” Reese said, elbowing me gently. “They’ll let you push it too far, even though they’re miserable too. The second you ask for help, they’re there.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“How’s the side?” Alice asked, cutting in. “Pain?”
“The stitches are pulling, but no, it doesn’t hurt.”
“Strangest fucking thing,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “After you’re done eating, I’ll take them out.”
“What?” Reese said, her head spinning toward me. “The stitches from yesterday?”
“They’re ready to come out,” I replied, shoving the food into my mouth.
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mates heal really fast,” Lucy said.
“After the bond,” Reese corrected. “Not before. What the fuck?”
“Alice isn’t sure what’s going on,” I said with a shrug. I didn’t want to think too deeply about why my body was healing so fast or what the implications might be. Believing that I still had a choice about all of it was probably the only thing that had kept me sane up to that point.
“Chance may have ingested some blood,” Alice said in that abrupt way she had. “Which could’ve started the process. Not sure about Rena’s side of it. Could be tears.”
“What the hell is she talking about?” Reese demanded.
“He kissed my bloody head,” I grumbled.
Reese’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
“Rena could’ve ingested some tears, though I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Alice mused. “Doubt we’ll ever know.”
“So you think you’ve already completed the bond?” Reese asked doubtfully. “Without knowing?”
“No,” I answered flatly. “But it’s obviously messed with my physiology somehow.”
“Right,” she said, backing off instantly. “That makes a weird kind of sense.”
“Semen helps,” Rosemary said, barely even glancing at us. “Before, I mean. It takes blood to solidify the bond, but yeah. Semen can calm the heat too.”
“I’ll be damned,” Alice murmured.
“Could we please not discuss semen in front of Mom?” Lucy said sotto voce.
“Sorry, Mattie.”
“I’ve heard nothing. I know nothing,” Mattie replied, humming as she walked across the kitchen to the sink and turned it on full blast.
“I understand the hesitation,” Lucy said, commiserating. “I felt the same before Ambrose and I completed our mating bond. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go through with it.”
“What made you decide to?” I asked curiously.
“I didn’t want to live without him,” she said simply. “Though the fact that when I told him I would leave him, both of us were in more pain than I’d ever experienced. It helped move the decision along. I think that’s when I realized I was fighting the inevitable.”
“Reese was all in from the beginning,” I said, glancing at my best friend.
“I didn’t look before I leaped,” Reese said with a grin. “You should’ve heard her tearing me a new asshole about it.”
“I was all in too,” Rosemary said, shooting me a small smile.
She was still subdued, and it seemed like she was struggling to connect with us.
I wasn’t sure if that was her usual personality or the aftermath of what she’d seen.
Probably the latter. “I’ve seen the mating bond up close and personal, but I never thought I’d be lucky enough to experience it. ”
“Dalton, right?” I asked.
“He’s my dad’s best friend, and Aunt Halle was my mom’s best friend. They’re my godparents, so I was raised with their boys. There’s nothing comparable to the Vampire bond. Nothing even comes close.”
I let that sink in. I wasn’t sure what was holding me back from all of it. The way the commitment was described was everything I’d ever wanted.
“She’ll get with the program,” Reese said, covering her hand with her mouth to hide the food in it. “She just has to overthink it for a while.”
“It’s a big decision,” I argued. I didn’t want to offend Chance’s mom, so I left it at that.
“The decision’s been made,” Helen said gently, making me look at her in surprise. She’d been quiet since I entered the room. “Though perhaps that’s where the difficulty lies.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
“Leave the girl alone,” Alice said, coming to my shocked defense. “Hurry up and finish so I can take those stitches out, or you’ll have to wait until Sven and I get back.”
I nodded and hurried to finish my lunch. The kitchen was quiet after that as we all dug into our food. Mattie reached across the counter and took my plate and wineglass with a smile when I was finished, gesturing with her head for me to go with Alice.
“Thanks,” I said quietly and went to find the grouchy woman.
She was standing in front of a cabinet, counting when I entered the little medical room, and raised her hand for me to wait until she finished. Turning, she wrote down the number on a little notepad and then walked to the sink.
“I can take the ones out of your forehead too,” she said over the sound of the sink. “Damndest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Maybe I’ll leave them,” I said, sitting down on the bed. “They make me look tough.”
“They make you look injured,” she countered. “They’re coming out.”
“Do you really think that the bond was completed without our consent?” I asked as she pulled on her gloves.
“I wouldn’t bet your immortality on it,” she said flatly. “You better not either.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“Good.”
I closed my eyes as she grabbed a little pair of scissors off the tray next to her. Then, I felt an uncomfortable tugging at the wound site, but it didn’t hurt.
“You could do worse than Chauncey,” Alice said conversationally. “I’m not one to talk. I led Sven on a merry chase when we met. But if you’re looking for opinions, that’s mine. He’s a good boy.”
“Good to know.”
“If nothing else, he’s good for comic relief,” she said. “There. Now lie back and pull up your shirt.”
“You’re done already?” I asked, reaching up to my forehead.
“Only takes a minute,” she said, gesturing for me to move.
I lay back and tugged my shirt up.
“It’s the stitching that takes time,” she said, starting on my side. “Taking them out is easy.”
“Thanks for taking care of me when Chance brought me in,” I said quietly, staring at the ceiling.
“Took an oath,” she replied. “Besides, I’d never let one of my boys’ mates die if I could help it.”
“Do you have children?” I asked.
Alice was silent for a long time, and I had the feeling that I’d just put my foot in my mouth in a big way. Before I could take back the words somehow, she spoke.
“You know, no one’s asked me that in a long time.”
“Sorry, it’s none of my business,” I said quickly.
“You asked anyway,” she said with a wry laugh. “Yes. I had a son. He was killed before he turned ten summers.”
“I’m so sorry,” I replied, my stomach sinking.
“It’s been a long time now,” she said, smoothing something cold and wet over my scar. She rose to her feet and reached for my face. “When the time is right, Sven and I will join him.” She smeared the ointment over my forehead. “But not yet.”
“What was his name?”
Alice paused, her eyes growing distant as a soft smile pulled at her lips. “Leofric. But I only used that when he was being ornery. We called him Leo, mostly.” She stepped back from the bed. “All done.”
“Thanks again,” I said as she strode back to the cabinet.
“You’re welcome,” she replied with her back to me.
Climbing off the table, I walked quietly out of the room.
Chance was leaning against the kitchen counter, scowling at the floor between his feet when I entered the room.
“Hey, looking good,” he said, his expression lightening when he lifted his head.
“No more stitches. I’m not sure why she changed her mind about waiting another day,” I replied. The kitchen was deserted. “Where did everyone go?”
“They’re calling in favors,” he said grimly.
“What happened?”
“Arthur couldn’t get authorization to send out the teams,” he replied, reaching for me. “If operators come, it’ll be because of their relationships with us.”
“That’s ridiculous.” I wasn’t sure how things worked, but saving their people from torture seemed pretty straightforward to me.
“It is,” he agreed, leaning down to kiss my neck. He rested his forehead on my shoulder for a moment. “Congratulations, sugar. I’m pretty sure you’re going to have a front-row seat to the fracturing of the United States Vampire Command.”
“Shit,” I whispered.
“Yeah.” He nodded and lifted his head, his hair hanging loose around his face. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No,” he said, smiling as his thumb grazed my cheek. “But maybe afterward. I’m not sure how many former teammates will bring their mates, and when we get them out…we’ll need you to help with the mates.”
“Of course,” I said easily. “But why?”