35. Chapter 35
WhenIwakethe next morning, my hands drift to where Bane and Diego should be, but their spots are empty, the spaces cold to the touch. Pushing myself up, I glance around my room. It”s completely empty. I slip out from between the sheets and adjust my robe.
As I get closer to the door, I can hear shouting from the direction of the living room. My hand stops just before the doorknob, which has thankfully been replaced since Bane destroyed it. I”m not sure if I even want to go out there, too much testosterone is flying around the place.
Diego”s voice is clear, and I can hear the anger in it. ”She”s our true mate, she needs to know.”
”We can”t keep her if she doesn”t want to be here, Diego.” Jax cuts him off before he can say any more.
I open the door and step into the hallway. What does Diego mean, I”m their true mate? I try to remember back to the conversation I had with Jax. He told me about wolves having true mates, but he mentioned nothing about vampires having the same. This is the first I”ve heard of it.
”Jax, can you just get your head out of your ass for more than five minutes? We don”t know what Demi wants. Have you ever thought to ask her?”
”She told me last night, Diego. She”s leaving today.” Jax doesn”t sound pleased. I only told him what I thought he wanted to hear.
”But did you actually ask her what she wants? Without being an asshole at the same time?”
”I...”
A shadow falls over me where I stand outside my room. I look up to find Bane standing in front of me. He doesn”t say a word and as I go to open my mouth he places a finger against my lips, halting anything I was about to say. Bane takes my hand in his and laces our fingers together. With a small tug, he jolts me into action, and I follow him toward the voices.
When I step out of the hallway, the other two men shift their eyes to me. Diego’s eyebrows are knitted together. But Jax is the one that confuses me the most. His mouth is tipped down and the circles under his eyes look worse than yesterday. I want to go to him and hold him, to wipe his sadness away and make him smile.
Bane takes me to the dining room table and sits me down. I curl a leg underneath me and lean my elbows on the surface, watching all three of them.
”Tell her, or I will.” Bane looks over to Jax and he looks like a deer in headlights waiting for the inevitable crash.
Diego makes his way over to where I”m sitting and leans on the back of the seat opposite me.
”We want to give you a choice, Demi. That”s all I”ve ever wanted. But I want to make myself clear right now, all I”ve ever wanted is you.” Diego runs a hand through his already messy hair. ”From the moment I first saw you, you”ve been it for me. True mate or not, I don”t want anyone else.”
”I don”t understand.” I look towards Jax. I need him to explain it to me. ”What do you mean, I”m your true mate?”
”You”re ours, Demi. The other half of our souls.” Jax doesn”t move from where he”s standing. ”I knew before these two did, but as I told you last night, I didn”t want to get close to someone again. I don”t know if you feel the pull like we do, being human. When you said you were leaving, I assumed you didn”t.”
”Wait a minute. That”s what this is? The feelings I”ve had this entire time are to do with this true mate thing.” I glare at all three of them in turn. ”I thought I was going crazy wanting three guys. Yeah, even you, Captain Asshole.” My gaze falls on Jax. ”But now you”re telling me it”s because we”re mates?”
I look at each of them waiting for some sort of confirmation. My hormones have been hell since I met these three, constantly horny and begging for release. Even the times I”ve spent with Diego wasn”t enough to tame them. There has always been another part of me wanting to claim them, all of them.
”You”d be ours forever, Demi, and we”d be yours. We”d love you, protect you.” Diego leans forward over the back of the chair, and I swear that any second he”s going to jump the table to get to me.
”Explain forever to me.”
”When a vampire finds his or her true mate, they must join together through sex and blood.” Jax talks like he”s reading from a textbook. I didn”t realize there was a Vampire 101 for these kinds of things. ”At the moment of climax, we”d exchange blood. Then our souls would connect. As long as your true mate is alive, you”d share their immortality.”
”So I”d be a vampire?”
”No, it”s slightly different from siring another vampire. You won”t need to drink blood, no fangs, no claws. You”d still be entirely you, but with the added perk of living as long as we do.” Diego chimes in, the look on his face is hopeful.
”That”s why you wanted to turn the woman your sire killed, isn”t it?” I aim the question at Jax, and he drops his chin.
”Yes. I knew she wasn”t my true mate, but I came to care for her, and I didn”t want to be alone anymore. The only way for her to live forever was to turn her, it was what she wanted too though.”
There”s too much information to absorb. If I bond with them, I become immortal, but not a vampire. I”d get to live forever. But it”s not just one of them that is my true mate, it”s all three of them. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest now.
”I need some time to think.” I rise from my chair and all three guys track my movements.
”Demi...” Bane speaks, but I ignore him and take off.
Spinning on my heel, I run down the hallway and into my room, slamming the door behind me. I lean against it and take a few calming breaths. None of the guys follow me, so that”s a bonus.
Come on, Demi, think.
I move to the closet and spot the duffle bags I brought my things in are still on the floor.
Without thinking, I grab them and throw both onto the bed. Grabbing everything off the coat hangers, I stuff the clothes inside before I raid the drawers and empty those as well. It”s too much. I can”t stay here. I have to leave. As I pack, I change into some jeans and a hoodie and push my feet into my sneakers.
Glancing around the room, I make sure I haven”t missed anything. Once I”m satisfied that I haven”t, I sling both bags over my shoulders and head for the door. Diego is waiting on the other side, his hand poised to knock.
”Demi...” he stops when he spots the bags on my shoulders. ”What are you doing?” There’s concern in his voice.
”I”m leaving. I can”t stay here.” I shove past him and march down the hallway.
When I reach the main room, Jax and Bane both look up at me. Jax doesn”t react, but I can see Bane”s features drop as he looks from me to the bags I”m carrying. He lets out a sigh and turns his back to me. The action breaks my heart, but I guess I brought it on myself.
”You don”t have to leave, Demetria.” Jax”s voice is calm and collected like it usually is.
”I do, I”m sorry. I just can”t do this.” I head for the door but sigh when I remember I still don”t know the codes.
A hand reaches over my shoulder and keys it in. I look over my shoulder at Diego and he gives me a small nod with a sad smile. When we reach the bottom of the stairs and exit into the alley, there”s an Uber already waiting for me. I turn to Diego.
”I thought you wouldn”t let me go.”
”I can”t keep you here, if that”s not what you want, mi amor. I love you enough to set you free.” With that, he leans forward and kisses me. I close my eyes so I can savor the taste of him.
I feel him pull away, and when I open my eyes again, he”s gone. My fingers brush over my lips as I turn back to the Uber. Throwing my things in the back, I climb in and confirmmy addresswith the driver. As I look over my shoulder at the club behind me, my heart shatters into a thousand pieces.
It”s been five days since I walked out of their lives, and five fitful nights plagued by nightmares of all the things that go bump in the night. At this point, I think I”m pretty much running on coffee that I wish came in an IV bag. When I got back to work, Michael told me I looked like crap and wanted to know if I needed more time off work. I told him a firm no; I had to get back to my life and my job.
Walking into my apartment that first day was surreal. The last time I”d seen my home it was trashed, but I realized as soon as I swung open the door that someone had taken care of the mess for me. Every item that had been destroyed was replaced, and the new items were more than I could afford on my salary, especially the furniture. Even though I hadn”t picked out the items myself, they were perfect, each one something I would have chosen.
There was a new door, which was a lot sturdier than my old one, and new windows had been fitted with secure locking points. I stood in my living room and did a full circle, trying to take everything in. Jax had told me he”d had my apartment secured, but this was beyond that. He must have known that eventually, I”d be leaving his place above the club.
Ginny’s parents had called me the same day and told me they’d been trying to contact me. It killed me that I couldn’t tell them what had really happened. The police had notified them of Ginny’s passing, but of course, I already knew. Rufus had taken not only my parents but one of my closest friends. I attended her funeral alone, staying just long enough for the service and to say a final goodbye to my friend.
Stepping through the double doors and into the parking lot at the hospital, the wind ruffles my hair. I didn”t even bother to sort it when I got changed. All I want to do is get home and have a long hot shower before I call for takeout and veg in front of the TV watching some trashy reality show that I know I probably won”t pay that much attention to.
I”ll most likely fall asleep in front of it again, only to be woken by nightmares and covered in sweat. Then I’ll have to drag my sorry ass for yet another shower. When I reach my car, I unlock the doors and jump in, throwing my small backpack on the seat beside me. I automatically lock the doors before pulling away. The wolves might be gone but I”m even less trusting of the world and the monsters within it.
But not those three. They will never be monsters to me. They were my saviors, my heroes, and God, I miss them. If I could turn back time I never would have walked out on them. I should have told them I needed time to think over everything they had told me, that I wasn”t giving up on them. But it’s too late now.
I drive home on autopilot and don”t even notice until I”m already parked outside my apartment building. I grab my stuff and head inside, moving up the steps at a snail”s pace, exhaustion weighing heavily at my limbs.
Locking up my car, I head inside and engage every lock that is now fitted to the inside of the door. I drop my things on the couch and head for my bedroom. After stripping off my clothes, I throw on my bathrobe and tie it at the waist before heading into my kitchen. I grab the already open bottle of wine from the fridge; I started it last night and I definitely plan on finishing it. Pouring myself a generous glass, I take a sip. It”s sweet with undertones of honey, just like Diego”s blood.
The thought of my tattooed vampire has my heart shattering all over again. I want him, and the others, more than anything. My heart and soul calls for them, but I don”t know how to approach them again. I walked out of their lives, and I can”t imagine they will ever want me back. Diego told me that he loves me, and I think I love him too. I love all of them in their own way.
There”s a thud outside my apartment door, and I flinch. My heart rate increases as panic sets in. I”ve been on edge since I left them; the lack of sleep and the sheer amount of coffee I’ve consumed isn”t helping matters. Slowly, I edge towards the door, my bare feet silent across the hardwood floor as I get closer to it.
Looking through the peephole, the hallway outside looks empty. Nothing seems amiss at all, but I have this sudden compulsion to open the door and investigate. Placing the glass of wine on the side table, my hand edges closer to the locks. With shaking hands, I undo them one by one, until all that is left for me to do is to turn the handle and open it.
Come on, Demi. Suck it up. The wolves are gone.
Shaking my head, I grasp the handle and pull the door open. I don”t see him at first. It”s not until my eyes drop that I notice legs sticking out to the left of my door. A familiar pair of baby blues look up at me.
”Bane? What are you doing here?” I squeak. Shifting on the floor, he stands slowly, his huge figure looming over me.
”I need to keep you safe.” His words are simple and straightforward.
”You”ve been watching me since I left?” I thought I had felt someone watching me, but it wasn”t in a creepy way.
”Yes.” Bane takes a step forward and I take one back. I don”t know what I”ll do if he gets too close, probably jump him.
”Do you want to come in?” With a small nod from Bane, I step away from the door and give him room to cross the threshold. I pick up my glass of wine and down the contents as he shuts the door behind him.
Bane is in my apartment, and I don”t know what to do. Has he been watching me because he wants to make sure I don”t get into any more trouble, or is it something else? Admit it, Demi, you want him to be here because he wants you. Arms wrap around my waist and his body presses up against my back.
”I missed you.”
”Missed you too, big guy.”