7. Calix
Chapter seven
Calix
T he warmth of Zero’s hand in mine is comforting. I lead him into the kitchen and gawk at all the food on the counters. It’s enough to feed an entire party of people. Zero lets go of my hand and walks over to the fridge. He starts rummaging around with a cute little scrunch of the nose on his handsome face.
I start piling food onto a dish for us. Since I’m still considered a young vampire, food is still tasty to me. It might not nourish me the way blood does, but it’s something I still enjoy. Since we plan on talking, I reach for finger foods that won’t require a lot of attention: cubes of cheese, sliced meat, grapes, and strawberries.
Zero sighs.
“What are you looking for?” I laugh. “There’s a literal buffet on the counter. Your teammate wasn’t joking when he said your friends brought a lot of food.”
“Lyla and Ruby had everything dropped off. You’ll meet them soon. Like I said, Lyla is Rook’s sister. She works at the shop with Rook. You’ll also get to meet Blaze and Cass. Both work at Rook’s Apothecary as well.”
I nod, trying to keep all the names straight.
He pushes the fridge door closed and spots something behind me. Zero gives me a flirty grin before brushing past me and making his way to a blue cooler at the end of the counter. “Here it is. I knew they wouldn’t forget you.” To my shock, he reaches inside and pulls out a blood bag.
My eyes widen. “That’s for me?” I can’t believe his friends thought to bring me something. A warmth starts spreading throughout my chest. It’s been a long time since someone did something to help me. Well, with the exception of Nico, anyway. It was as if the world around me never really cared for my well-being. My gaze bounces back up to the dragon shifter in front of me.
He chuckles. “You’re the only vampire I’ve ever let into my home. Of course it’s for you. Gods, who would have thought I would have a vampire in my house, let alone be handing him blood?”
Zero passes me the blood bag before he reaches into the cabinet behind me and hands me a wineglass. I could just bite the bag, but that’s a little messy, and I appreciate the thought.
“Do you need to heat it?” He points at the bag.
“No. Despite all the movies, vampires can drink warm or cold blood. As long as it’s not spoiled.”
He wrinkles his nose.
I continue to place finger food on my plate. He studies my food for a moment, lost in thought. Is he already questioning things? I mean seriously, why the hell did Fate pair us together? Zero with a vampire? Even his teammates were concerned.
“How is this going to work?” I ask, placing my plate down on the counter next to my blood bag and wineglass. Zero walks right up to me and leans on the counter. Feeling suddenly vulnerable, I lower my gaze and focus on the purple-and-magenta dragon scales on his arm. The scales are stunning as they shift and glimmer in the light.
“How’s what going to work?”
“Us,” I whisper, still unable to look him in the face. “I’m a vampire. You hate vampires.”
A deep sigh leaves Zero’s nose, and I briefly wonder if he can breathe fire in his dragon form. Zero pushes away from the counter and stands in front of me. He places two fingers under my chin and tips my face up. “Calix, look at me.”
Our eyes meet. His amethyst eyes swirl with an emotion I don’t quite understand.
He looks at me like I mean something to him, and I tremble under his touch. I haven’t meant something to someone in a long time. I know we’re fated mates, and I know some mates have that whole insta-love thing happening for them. But that isn’t us. That can’t be us. I’m the very creature he hates.
He sighs again. His claw-tipped fingers rub my arms in a soothing up-and-down motion. “Okay. Clearly, we need to talk. There are some things I need to explain.”
A nervous laugh tumbles out of me. “Gods, the whole ‘ we need to talk ’ line. Nothing good ever follows it,” I joke.
Zero continues to rub my arms as he gazes down at me with an intense look on his face. With one hand, he takes the pad of his thumb and runs it across my bottom lip. “Talking between us will never be a bad thing. If we are open and honest in our communication, our relationship has the potential to be absolutely incredible.”
Our relationship.
Gods. How is this my life? When I was held captive in Helios’s manor, I relied on my stories and imagination. I would weave romances in my head. Stories of strangers being fated. Soulmates reuniting. Most of the stories I wrote were insta-love.
Eventually, Nico discovered my little hobby and read one. He convinced me to publish my work. We set up my pen name and linked it to his bank account. At first, the money I earned came in slowly. We saved up for years, hiding the money from Helios as we hatched a plan to escape. One thing my readers either loved or hated was the instant connection between my characters. I would just scoff. They obviously didn’t understand the power of a soulmate.
And yet, now that I’m here facing a mate of my own, I’m afraid. I’m terrified this powerful dragon in front of me might not be able to flip a switch from vampire hunter to soulmate, just like that. He says that our relationship has the potential to be absolutely incredible, and I want to believe him. But everything feels too good to be true. How can Zero already be looking at me like I’m the full moon in his night sky?